Washington unveils $200 million plan to promote tourism

[24KT]

U.S. exempts Canadians from $10 visitor fee
Washington unveils $200 million plan to promote tourism

By Mitch Potter
 Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON–The British will pay, the Aussies will pay, and so too will the rest of America's closest allies under a new travel initiative that will levy a $10 fee on visitors to the United States.

Everyone, that is, but Canadians, who are exempt and will continue to enjoy fee-free travel on the merits of "our special relationship," U.S. officials confirmed Thursday.

Signed into law Thursday by U.S. President Barack Obama, the American Travel Promotion Act is designed to boost travel to the U.S., which fell precipitously as heightened security measures took hold in the aftermath of 9/11.

But buried in the bill's fine print is its funding mechanism. The travel industry is to provide $100 million to wage a global "Come To America" campaign, together will matching funds culled from the proceeds of a $10 fee on foreign travellers from 35 countries that share visa-waiver status with America.

"It is just the way the puck bounced. Canadians alone will not pay the fee because of our special relationship. But it will apply to all other countries in the visa waiver program, including the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea and much of western Europe," said Geoff Freeman, senior vice-president of the U.S. Travel Association.

Officials say the $200 million program is aimed at reversing the damage of years of negative impressions about the difficulty of crossing the U.S. border.

"The perception of Fortress America has taken hold, partly because we haven't gone out and told people we want their business. And so we've had fewer overseas travellers every single year since 9/11," Freeman said.

"This is a major effort to reverse that. In many ways, we're looking to Canada as the model. We all watched the Vancouver Olympics and saw what a great job Canada did. That set the benchmark for us."

Travel patterns between Canada and the U.S., meanwhile, continue to tilt southward, with fewer Americans making the cross-border journey.

In 2009, 20.5 million U.S. residents visited Canada, a 9.2 per cent decline from the 22.6 million in 2008, according to Statistics Canada.



Is it just me, or does something about this seem fishy to any of you too?   

[SAMSON123]

U.S. exempts Canadians from $10 visitor fee
Washington unveils $200 million plan to promote tourism

By Mitch Potter
 Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON–The British will pay, the Aussies will pay, and so too will the rest of America's closest allies under a new travel initiative that will levy a $10 fee on visitors to the United States.

Everyone, that is, but Canadians, who are exempt and will continue to enjoy fee-free travel on the merits of "our special relationship," U.S. officials confirmed Thursday.

Signed into law Thursday by U.S. President Barack Obama, the American Travel Promotion Act is designed to boost travel to the U.S., which fell precipitously as heightened security measures took hold in the aftermath of 9/11.

But buried in the bill's fine print is its funding mechanism. The travel industry is to provide $100 million to wage a global "Come To America" campaign, together will matching funds culled from the proceeds of a $10 fee on foreign travellers from 35 countries that share visa-waiver status with America.

"It is just the way the puck bounced. Canadians alone will not pay the fee because of our special relationship. But it will apply to all other countries in the visa waiver program, including the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea and much of western Europe," said Geoff Freeman, senior vice-president of the U.S. Travel Association.

Officials say the $200 million program is aimed at reversing the damage of years of negative impressions about the difficulty of crossing the U.S. border.

"The perception of Fortress America has taken hold, partly because we haven't gone out and told people we want their business. And so we've had fewer overseas travellers every single year since 9/11," Freeman said.

"This is a major effort to reverse that. In many ways, we're looking to Canada as the model. We all watched the Vancouver Olympics and saw what a great job Canada did. That set the benchmark for us."

Travel patterns between Canada and the U.S., meanwhile, continue to tilt southward, with fewer Americans making the cross-border journey.

In 2009, 20.5 million U.S. residents visited Canada, a 9.2 per cent decline from the 22.6 million in 2008, according to Statistics Canada.



Is it just me, or does something about this seem fishy to any of you too?   

Very FISHY!!!     

[drkaje]

We need money to offset all the jobs lost from NAFTA.

[24KT]

Very FISHY!!!     

Samson,

What about this sounds fishy to you? Can you please be specific?

[Eyeball Chambers]

Samson,

What about this sounds fishy to you? Can you please be specific?

Why don't you just cut out the "middle gimmick man", and tell us yourself jag?  

[24KT]

Why don't you just cut out the "middle gimmick man", and tell us yourself jag?  

I know what seems fishy to me. I want to know what if anything seems odd or fishy to the rest of you.