dvs7310

It just something each country has to weigh the cost / benefit of making such a political statement. Obviously Algeria isn't a country high on the bucket list of the majority of Americans so was probably not losing out on much by charging $160 to the few who want to go. Other countries that do it though are a bit of a head scratcher, like Brazil going back to it again now. It certainly costs a country like Brazil far more in lost tourist spend than they generate with the visa fee, so that's a political statement, perhaps feeling that their citizens should be trusted not to overstay in the US and be put into the visa waiver program.

For the most part now, the reciprocity fee has gone away in most countries that rely on tourism as a significant source of income, so it's of course quite popular in a lot of Africa. The few countries that do rely on significant tourist income and still require a visa for 1st tier passports (Indonesia and Egypt for example) charge a flat nominal fee to all tourists from all but a handful of countries. Even Paraguay got rid of theirs a few years ago and that's far from a typical tourist destination, so they must have decided the cost / benefit of the protest still wasn't worth it. Bolivia was really the last holdout in South America (Venezuela excluded) until Brazil suddenly decided to restart visas. I still have 1 more year on my old Brazilian visa right now, but instead of renew it will probably take the opportunity to explore more of Argentina after it expires, I used to go to Brazil at least once a year and their tax revenue from my spend was FAR more than the $160 visa fee, but the country lost a lot of appeal with that decision. They are far from the end-all, be-all in the region. Uruguay is wonderful, Argentina has a lot of offer than I haven't seen yet, as does Chile despite being relatively expensive. So it's easy to point fingers at America and say oh, your visa process is too difficult and too expensive but it is for a reason. Canada, Australia, and EU Schengen aren't handing out tourist visas like candy either but don't get nearly as much international grief as the US.