Legislative Action Center :: Congressional Testimony

Travel and tourism generated $99.5 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2000.

CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

BY

THE TRAVEL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE,
A STRATEGIC PARTNER TO
THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

TO THE

9/11 PUBLIC DISCOURSE PROJECT
PUBLIC SESSION ADDRESSING PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005

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The Travel Business Roundtable (TBR) and the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) would like to thank the 9/11 Public Discourse Project for convening today’s public session to discuss the important role of public diplomacy in our nation’s fight against terrorism.

In efforts to build a more secure United States of America, the 9/11 Commission has provided a complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11th terrorist attacks, and it has conducted a bipartisan effort to guard against future attacks. Through the Commission’s efforts and federal agency coordination, the American homeland has become safer. However, security at our nation’s physical ports-of-entry is not the only way to protect America and its citizens.

The 9/11 Commission reported that America’s image around the world is deteriorating, both in ally nations as well as in the Muslim world. Today, the panel will discuss the role of public diplomacy in combating terrorism, and this statement, which we request be submitted for the record, seeks to clearly define the role of the travel and tourism industry in that struggle.

THE NEED FOR A PUBLIC DIPLOMACY STRATEGY

The steady increase in anti-American sentiment across the world has given rise to a challenge for 21st century America. Not only does this worldwide crisis challenge our national and economic security, but it also diminishes the demand for U.S. goods and services around the globe.

Anti-Americanism, recently fueled by America’s engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, has for decades spread through globalization. While terrorism has intensified these negative feelings, its causes predate even today’s conflicts. America’s unmatched power in areas such as its military, economy and prospering political system has contributed not only to its global success but also to a growing worldwide resentment. Success has a tendency to breed resentment, and America’s uniquely effective strategies of ingenuity, assertiveness and resolve have contributed to the creation of a worldwide tension. Our nation’s public diplomacy strategy must target a wide, growing and increasingly hostile audience.

The next generation of terrorists must be stopped at the source. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, only 15 percent of Egyptians and 12 percent of Saudis have favorable views of the U.S. The Commission also found that over two-thirds of those surveyed in countries from Indonesia to Turkey are fearful the U.S. may attack them. Terrorism rises out of fear and hatred. Our homeland will not be secure until countries respect the U.S. instead of fear it.

Recent studies show that even in countries that are part of the “Coalition of the Willing” with troops on the ground in Iraq, the U.S is losing favor rapidly. In March 2005, the Lowy Institute conducted the most comprehensive national survey ever in Australia. Australians were asked to identify the most highly esteemed countries in the world. Japan, a nation at war with Australia just 60 years ago, ranked first; China came in second; and the U.S. trailed significantly behind. Australians were then asked to name the two greatest threats to world peace. The overwhelming majority of Australians ranked both Islamic fundamentalism and the United States of America as the two greatest threats. In March 2004, the Pew Research Center reported that the percentage of British citizens having a favorable view of the United States fell from 75 percent in the summer of 2002 to just 58 percent in March 2004.

American success in a global economy has always been contingent upon a fair, honest and cooperative national image. A poll of 8,000 consumers in eight nations conducted last December by Global Market Insite, Inc. (GMI) showed that 61 percent of French consumers and 58 percent of German consumers opposed U.S. brands. Progress toward alliances based on mutual respect cannot prosper under these conditions.

America’s economy has created some of the most powerful and appealing brands in the world. For many years, these American brands have symbolized freedom, creativity and capitalistic opportunity at its best. The attributes foreign consumers are now associating with these American brands are far less flattering. When the tagline “Made in America” is no longer respected but rather viewed with bitterness and even aversion, a significant problem is growing.

The Bush Administration has encouraged all Americans to assist in promoting a more positive view of America through business, social and government action. Illustrating the severity of the issue to professionals in American business is key to this issue. By appointing his trusted adviser Karen Hughes to the post of Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, President Bush has demonstrated his sensitivity to and recognition of the public diplomacy problem and the crucial need to focus on it in order to combat the further spread of anti-American sentiment. In her confirmation hearing in July, Ms. Hughes specifically noted that she plans to work closely with the travel and tourism industry as part of her public diplomacy strategy. Travel and tourism may be one of the most powerful and cost efficient tools for changing negative perceptions of America, and clearly, that message is being heard.

THE ROLE OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM

Studies have demonstrated that when international visitors travel to the U.S., negative images fade and admiration for our nation and its people emerges. When foreigners come to America, they experience American culture and hospitality first hand, and almost without exception, their view of America and its people changes for the better.

Research conducted in six of the top travel markets to the U.S., including Japan, Germany, France and Brazil, established that while 38 percent of those who had never visited the U.S. had a positive image of America, 54 percent of those who had visited viewed America positively. Likewise, only 61 percent of those who had not visited the U.S. had a positive view of the American people, compared to 72 percent of those who had visited. Obviously, travel is more than an economic generator. International visitors are more than a source of revenue. They have irreplaceable diplomatic value when they come in contact with Americans, reporting back to friends and relatives at home about their positive experiences.

While international travel to the U.S. is on the rise, having increased by 12 percent from 2003 to 2004, America is still lagging far behind pre-9/11 numbers. In 2000, 50.9 million international visitors came to the United States, but only 46.1 million came in 2004. In addition, during a time when the weakness of the dollar makes the U.S. one of the world’s greatest travel bargains, the U.S. Department of Commerce projects that 2006 will be the earliest possible date for international visitors to reach pre-9/11 numbers.

Worldwide international travel increased at a rate of 52 percent between 1992 and 2004, but America’s share of that lucrative travel market declined by 36 percent. America, formerly the most visited travel destination in the world, is now third, behind France and Spain and still declining. According to an August 2005 GMI survey, the United States ranked dead last among 25 nations in the appeal of its culture and heritage. The U.S. is clearly losing its ability to inspire and positively influence other nations of the world.

In 2004, the U.S. travel and tourism industry generated $599.2 billion in domestic and international travel expenditures. The industry directly provided 7.3 million jobs, producing more than $163.3 billion in payroll. Further, it created a trade surplus of $5.8 billion.

Even the smallest increase in international travel to the U.S. would have a huge impact on the U.S. economy. A mere 1 percentage point increase in worldwide market share would mean an additional $12.3 billion in spending across the U.S.; 150,000 more jobs; $3.3 billion in new payroll; new federal, state and local tax revenues of $2.1 billion; and 7.6 million more visitors spending time on American soil.

The numbers speak for themselves, and combined with travel and tourism’s unique ability to change perceptions and opinions, why is the U.S. not doing more to encourage international visitors to come here?

Last winter, the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries at the U.S. Department of Commerce, in consultation with the U.S. Travel and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board, launched an advertising and marketing campaign promoting the U.S. in the United Kingdom. The U.S. spent a mere $6 million, compared to the hundreds of millions spent annually by its worldwide competitors (i.e. Australia – $93 million; Turkey – $62 million; and Fiji – $10 million). Before the 2004 campaign, the U.S. was virtually silent in marketing the U.S. as a destination around the world.

While increasing the visibility of the U.S. abroad is an important factor in encouraging travel, simply augmenting international marketing budgets is not the answer. We have many more obstacles that must be addressed. When international travelers feel intimidated and unwelcome because of stringent visa and passport policies or even conflicting definitions of those policies, the perception develops that a virtual fortress is being erected at our borders. For those travelers who do decide to come to the U.S., further aggravation can result from a less than welcoming experience during the inspection process at U.S. ports-of-entry.

The number of foreign visa applications has decreased by one-third since 9/11. Those who previously came to America seeking medical procedures and educational advancement are now searching elsewhere for such services. In the near future, we face the risk that more foreign leaders will make decisions concerning America in the absence of personal experience and interaction with America and its people.

The travel and tourism industry is willing and able to partner with the Departments of State and Homeland Security to improve the visa application process and the arrivals experience without compromising security. Industry leaders are eager to work in cooperation with both agencies to revise our current outdated visa categories, to improve the culture of consular services, to assist in training our ambassadorial and career foreign service officers, and to improve the experience for arriving international travelers at ports-of-entry, among other ideas. We are an industry that understands the need to find the delicate balance between securing our nation’s borders and facilitating the free flow of commerce. We are confident that both can be achieved.

THE ROLE OF AMERICAN BUSINESS

American products, too, play an important role in promoting the American brand. The way in which America markets its products and depicts certain values is essential to the commercial success of the United States. Missed opportunities to capitalize on the international travel market and changing world attitudes toward America represent a significant shift for American businesses. Rising international hostility toward America and its policies will have a direct impact on the ability of the United States to compete in a global marketplace. Countless commissions and reports on public diplomacy cite the need to engage the private sector, whose role in public diplomacy efforts, now more than ever, is critical to our broader economic and national security.

By partnering with groups such as Business for Diplomatic Action (BDA), a taskforce led by some of the world’s pre-eminent communications, marketing, media and political science professionals, and the only private sector led public diplomacy effort of its kind, we as an industry can help engage and empower the business community and Americans themselves in strategic long-term public diplomacy actions and initiatives.

CONCLUSION

Public diplomacy involves rebuilding trust among alienated peoples around the globe. It involves encouraging international travel to the United States. When people visit the United States, they develop a positive impression of our nation. They gain respect and admiration for the American people. Travel is the most cost efficient and powerful messenger of American civility, and international travelers are our best goodwill ambassadors. Working together with the business community and non-governmental organizations, while also working in partnership with federal agencies, we can begin to effectively address America’s deteriorating image abroad.

Left unaddressed, these worsening worldwide images portend ominous consequences: a generation of future world leaders with no personal exposure to America or its people; a growing international determination to avoid travel to America and the purchase of its goods and services; and even more fundamentally, a blow to our stature as a worldwide leader and as a force for good. The appeal of America has always rested in its ability to project itself as an aspirational nation. The travel and tourism industry is positioned to be a critical messenger in helping restore America’s image around the world. Its leaders stand ready to be partners in developing this public diplomacy strategy.