The U.S. Senate yesterday passed the Travel Promotion Act (a companion bill is now in committee in the House) which would impose a $10 fee on those foreign visitors not paying for a visa to enter the United States. U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow said the legislation would help the United States "strengthen its image in the world as visitors leave with an improved perception of our country and her people." Perhaps, but on the front end, the U.S. image perceived by some may be weakening as a result.
Ever since the U.S. Travel Association uncovered the practice by some federal agencies of "blacklisting" resort destinations for business meetings (and the
Wall Street Journal story about it), I've been pleased to see that our industry, and Congressional representatives of these unfairly targeted destinations, aren't taking this lying down. There’s been a ton of rhetoric and pushback generated by folks directly impacted by the blacklisting and a lot of buzz online via blogs (like yours truly) and columnists.
