GUWonder

The use of marketshare as a target is actually very intelligent if the objective is to create even more job opportunities for one's own compatriots and increase the profitability of firms in industries that feed off tourism than would ordinarily be the case.

CaliforniasCentralCoast

Yes, it will indeed require more than marketing - here are some FAQs on the marketing aspect: http://www.thebrandusa.com/faqs/

But they are also working on policy as well...

The President recently unveiled an ambitious plan to make the United States the #1 tourist destination in the world. Each year, tens of millions of people from around the world visit the U.S. In 2010, the travel and tourism industry generated over $134 billion dollars for the American economy and tourism supported 7.5 million jobs.

The President wants to build upon this success, and recently announced steps to ease the international arrival and admissions process for tourists to visit the United States. Frequent travelers who pass an extensive background check will be able to scan their passports and fingerprints and skip long lines at immigration at more airports through the Global Entry Program. As a result of the President’s action, the U.S. will expand the number of countries where visitors can get pre-cleared by Homeland Security so they don’t need a tourist visa. And we’re going to speed up visa processing for countries with growing middle classes that can afford to visit America – countries like China and Brazil.

More at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/...ic-opportunity


"... the travel and tourism industry is one of the most important engines of our economy—in fact, it is our number-one service export. That is why President Obama recently announced the creation of a Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness, which charged us with leading efforts to develop recommendations for a National Travel and Tourism Strategy to promote travel throughout the United States..." More at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/...rts-increase-v


Whatever views one might hold relating to statistics and so forth, it is hard to disagree that promoting and easing travel to the USA, while maintaining appropriate security measures, has an enormously positive economic and social impact on our society and world.

GUWonder

I am rather confident that the bulk of the passport-issuance increase are due to: US citizens being told -- for some years before 2007 -- that a passport was going to be necessary and/or make things a lot easier for crossing into the US even for intra-North America+Caribbean travel; and the rapidly growing proportion of US citizens with at least one foreign-born parent (many of which got US passports as evidence of citizenship as a response to anxiety that their origins or that of their children would be questioned).

florin

In the context of a serious global recession many people can't afford to travel to the US anymore. The flight alone is pricey, especially when traveling with a family. With unemployment soaring, Europeans are more likely to travel within Europe, Asians within Asia, and so on.

Yes, the general attitude towards foreigners (the visa process, immigration upon entry, TSA...) is annoying, but I think the economy has much more to do with it....

GUWonder

Perhaps, but that's perhaps why the focus on marketshare may make even more sense.

The US loss of marketshare has been occurring for years now, even before an official declaration of recession in the US or much of Europe was in the situation it is in now. Apparently even a US dollar that has lost substantial value relative to the EUR and other major market currencies has come contemporary with a US loss in marketshare.

NPF

Today's weak dollar helps a lot when travelling to the US; the US is one of the cheapest (first world) destinations avaiable now.

GUWonder

... and the US is a shoppers' paradise for those who have a free baggage allowance of at least two 70-lbs/32-kg bags, as is the allotment for those flying on flights to/from Brazil, and thus can visit, shop and return home after having stimulated the US economy.

Now only if the US Government allowed Brazilians to once again come to the US without a visa, that would be more money directly stimulating the US economy rather than directly ending up in the US Government's pocket and only then trickling into the US economy.

US ski resorts in Colorado have a lot to be thankful for that some Brazilians are willing to jump through the hurdles of dealing with getting a US visa when Brazilians can enter into richer countries than the US without the visa hassles/costs.

M60_to_LGA

You're totally onto something here. Just in the past few years I know there's been an explosion of domestic travel in, for example, Brazil, as the country has for the first time ever developed a mass middle class. I've also seen reports that similar things have happened in China and India, and I'm sure elsewhere in the world with similar macroeconomic trends, things are much the same.

On an anecdotal basis (mostly on FT!) I've heard people say they refuse to fly to the US anymore because of our inane security theater. But somehow I don't quite see that being the start of a global trend. I think most casual international travelers who want to come see NY or Vegas frankly don't know anything at all about US security rules anyway.

And judging by how difficult it is to walk around Manhattan at any hour of the day or night without running into gaggles of French or Spanish tourists, I'm guessing the absolute tourist numbers are doing just fine.

FLLDL

I would have to disagree very strongly with this. Using the change in US tourism marketshare from 2000 - 2011 in isolation and without any acknowledgement of anything which might have changed in the world in that time period is foolish.

China's GDP went from $1T to $7T from 2000-2011. India's GDP more than doubled. Regional tourism in Asia has boomed, which has decreased the US' marketshare.

So on a percentage basis we are getting a smaller piece of a larger global pie, and indeed the US set new records for tourist arrivals and spending in 2011. Where is the crisis?

To ignore the changes which have occurred globally since 2000 and the effects on the global tourism market is silly.

GUWonder

Who is ignoring the changes which have occurred globally since 2000? I am intimately familiar with the changes, particularly those that have occurred in and around BRICs, with India and China in particular way more than most. For a while I was the most frequent foreigner entering India from long-haul flights.

The problem is that the US has had approaches which have undermined growing the market share and/or otherwise maximizing the employment rolls that would have occurred if tourism numbers to the US were even higher and we had maintained marketshare.

Most people from the fastest growing parts of the world in recent years who can afford to travel to the US are well aware of the "security" hassles of the US, with the initial "security" requirement in the way being visa acquisition.

Even looking at just the international long-haul travel marketshare, the US has lost out.

NPF

I'm Brazilian, and it is indeed incredible the amount of luggage people bring home from the US. Everything is much cheaper / there are much more choices in the US than in Brazil and to shop in the US is one of the motivations for the leisure traveler.

As for VISA free travel to the US for Brazilians, I understand the reticence of American government. I'm not sure about the long term prospects for the Brazilian economy and, in case it sours, there would be the risk of economic migration, as happened in the past even with a VISA requirement, but would be much intense in a VISA-free environment.

One also must not forget the example of Argentine, which had a VISA-free agreement with the US not long ago, negotiated during the dollar/peso parity and how it developed after the Argentinian currency collapse.

NPF

It would be extremely naive not to look at the market share numbers. The US are a mass-market tourism destination; lose too much market share and you are destined to oblivion.

American's belief in American exceptionalism must be tempered with a bit of realism. People travel to the US because it is good / lucrative for them. Increase the hassle factor for it and you need an increase in the benefits; otherwise people will go to other places.

GUWonder

Indeed, and what the US has done to eliminate VWP allowances for some countries (which were previously granted visa free access to the US), it could also do with Brazil whenever the Brazilian economy drops off the cliff.

Brazilians get visa-free travel to countries which have higher per capita income figures than the US and have been getting such access for years now. The US wouldn't be the only country to have economic migration concerns.

stonecrd

This is certainly not the case for Florida where tourism numbers are up 4.4% over last year. With the fall off in housing prices the numbers of Latino's coming in doing cash deals for vacation and rental properties has picked up significantly.

If you go to the largest outlet mall (Sawgrass) in the are you will hear more Portuguese than Spanish these days and English is down to #3. A trip to Disney land and you will see predominetly Asians and Brazilians.

FLLDL

The US Travel Association is ignoring it and blindly using marketshare numbers as it seems to suit their agenda.

Here are some other non-sensical marketshare statistics from the USTA as quoted in the NY Times article:

"There were also big declines in the same period in travel from France (down 23.2 percent), Brazil (down 20.3 percent), Germany (down 19.2 percent) and Japan (down 5.8 percent). "

The number of US visas issued to Brazilians has at least tripled since 2000 and spending has surged to record levels. I live in Miami and can certainly attest to this. Presenting what is has been an absolute, unprecedented boom in Brazilian tourism as a decline is inaccurate at best.

The 20% "decline" in marketshare being presented by the USTA without any context is completely meaningless. Lies, damn lies and statistics...