Upsetting Al Qaeda’s Travel Agents
November 1st, 2007 at 9:13 pm by BrianWe’ll file this one under “And Stay Out!”
Be still your hearts, oh peddlers of cheap Chinese made snowglobes:
The number of foreign visitors to the United States has plummeted since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington because foreigners don’t feel welcome, tourism professionals said Thursday. “Since September 11, 2001, the United States has experienced a 17 percent decline in overseas travel, costing America 94 billion dollars in lost visitor spending, nearly 200,000 jobs and 16 billion dollars in lost tax revenue,” the Discover America advocacy campaign said in a statement.
Will Mexican illegals ever forgive us for not letting them work at the Hilton? But who is this “Discover America” group?
Chairman Stevan Porter lamented the “extraordinary decline” in the number of overseas visitors to the United Sates, while the advocacy group’s executive director, Geoff Freeman, blamed the slump on the shabby welcome many foreigners feel they get in the United States.
“It’s clear what’s keeping people away in the post-9/11 environment: it is the perception around the world that travelers aren’t welcome,” Freeman told AFP.
And the problem is….what again? We’re constantly told how inferior American culture is. How we’re disliked in the world. How we’re warmongering, obese, braindead, television-sitters. And by the way, why don’t you come over and enjoy some of our 61″ LCD Flatscreen all-u-can-eat culture while you’re insulting us?
“Six years after 9/11, we need to take this more seriously,” Freeman said.
Yea. Six years after 9/11, we need to take the plight of the Loews hotel chain and Disneyworld more seriously. That’s where we went wrong.
Discover America has this cute, little graphic on their website:
Because National Security is threatened by the War on Terror. People who are against going after terrorists are mad and not visiting us. Our loss must be Spain’s gain and it is!
They only had to ignore the Madrid bombing and increase tourism advertising 20 times ours ($119M vs. $6.1M) to do it.
I realize the Anheuser-Buschs think it’s the War on Terror that is keeping the Hanses and Franzes of the world from enjoying their unparalleled and watery domestic but for the sake of argument let’s say that your companies do the tourism advertising rather than trying to water down the War On Terrorism and bitching about the US government taxpayers not paying for your commercials.
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:08 am
This is a group the conservative blogosphere should begin to keep an eye on. I visited their website and it is scary to think that these people would risk the nation’s security for a few extra bucks from overseas tourists. Good job bringing this subject up….
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:49 am
John – thanks. I’m trying to stay away from the longwinded essays but they are trying to push through a bill called the Travel Promotion Act of 2007 that their form letters to send you representatives contends is “no cost to the taxpayer”, yet it somehow calls for creating new departments in the government to oversee tourism. Departments that, by their description, sound like junkets and fraud waiting to happen.
Sponsored by no less than Mr. Bridge To Nowhere Stevens himself and Mr. Hawaiian Separatist Inouye. Their “no cost” gimmick is quickly refuted:
” Establish a non-profit Travel Promotion Corporation with a 14-member board consisting of representatives of states, the federal government, and the travel industry. The Corporation would be authorized to:
– Promote international travel to the United States through advertising, outreach to trade shows, and other promotions;
– Maximize the economic and diplomatic benefits of travel to the United States;
– Correct misperceptions regarding U.S. travel policy around the world;
– Prioritize the Corporation’s efforts based on countries and populations most likely to travel to the United States; and
– Ensure that international travel benefits all states.”
Long story short – travel junkets for the lucky members appointed to this commission.
But then there’s the bill:
“Allow the Corporation to borrow $10 million from the Treasury in 2008 to cover its initial expenses but require the Corporation to pay the funds back by 2012. Starting in 2009, the Corporation would be required to raise non-federal funds and in-kind contributions. Based on the amount raised by the Corporation, up to $100 million in federal matching funds would be made available annually from the Travel Promotion Fund established in the Treasury. At least 20% of the matching contributions would be in cash.”
These people are sick. They want to jeopardize our national security and make us pay them to do it in order to enrich a small handful of tourist oriented states. When searching for government pork, the tourism industry knew exactly which teats to tap.
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Chairman Stevan Porter lamented the “extraordinary decline” in the number of overseas visitors to the United Sates…
Hey Brian, you might want to invest in a dictionary…it’s the United STATES. You can also call it “America” or the “U.S.” in case you didn’t know.
It also looks like you botched STEVEN Porter’s name. Only a gay person would spell his name “Stevan”…and I don’t know any “Stevans”…