Tourism officials urge easier visas

Streamlining the process of obtaining a visitor visa would help create more than 1 million new jobs in the United States and drive $859 billion in new economic output through 2020, World Travel & Tourism Summit participants said Tuesday in Las Vegas.

In a panel discussion to open the conference, convention and trade show industry leaders described how delays and intrusiveness stymie business executives trying to enter the United States.

"It is very, very challenging for these people," said Margaret Cassilly, vice president of international operations for the National Association of Broadcasters, which has its annual convention in Las Vegas. "Sometimes they have to travel for hours or days to get to a U.S. consulate or embassy" for visa interviews.

Then, she said, they face a battery of "intimidating" questions, such as listing family members and bank accounts, which cause some to stay home.

The issue is especially important to Las Vegas, where 18 percent of the regional economy, or $16.1 billion per year, derives from leisure and hospitality businesses, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce numbers for 2009, the most recent year available. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, a summit sponsor, reported 18 percent of visitors last year came from other countries.

Al Cervero, senior vice president for the triennial Conexpo-CON/AGG construction industry convention in Las Vegas, estimated that a smoother visa process would increase foreign attendance by 5 percent to 10 percent. Close to 35,000 of the 120,000 attendees at the March 2011 show came from outside the country.

Using the average $942 per visitor spending for trade shows used by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the extra attendance would have been worth $16.5 million to $33 million to the local economy.

A State Department official, however, said the visa process does not constitute a bureaucratic bottleneck.

"On one hand, we are the first line of border security," said spokeswoman Rosemary Macray, who was not at the roundtable discussion. "But we also have a responsibility to ensure that legitimate travelers can enter the U.S. I think the statistics show we are able to do both."

According to the Department of Commerce count, the 60 million visitors to the United States in 2010 marked a 17 percent increase over five years, which included a dip during the recession.

However, the process also tightened after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The number of visas issued during the year ended Sept. 30 rose 8 percent from the year before.

Among emerging economies, Macray said, the visa count over the past five years has risen 51 percent, 124 percent for China and 234 percent for Brazil.

But panelists contended that people are being turned away for no good reason, costing business opportunities.

"If you don't see international buyers on a trade show floor, the buzz is that the U.S. show is not relevant," said Roger Dow, the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

Cassilly said 14 Chinese exhibitors were initially rejected for April's NAB show. However, she said, she was eventually able to get visas for all but one.

Under current regulations, citizens of 36 countries, almost all of them in central and western Europe, can visit the United States for 90 days without a visa. Others with no-visa pacts include long-standing U.S. allies such as South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Australia.

Citizens of other countries must complete a form and go through an in-person interview in a consulate or embassy. That procedure includes countries such as India, China and Brazil, whose rapid growth and infrastructure spending make them prized targets for convention marketers.

Wait times for an interview can vary widely, according to the State Department website. In New Dehli, an appointment can be scheduled in eight days, but the delay rises to 51 days in Shanghai and 121 days in Sao Paulo.

Business people, Macray said, often can take advantage of an expedited process.

Last week, the U.S. Travel Association laid out a program that calls for reducing the interview wait time to 10 days, among other points.

The tourism summit, a battery of speeches and panel discussions put on by the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council, runs through Thursday. Attendees include executives from hotels, booking sites and other travel companies a well as influential government officials from the United States, China, South Africa, Singapore and Japan, among other countries.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will deliver a keynote to day, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon will speak Thursday.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@review journal.com or 702-387-5290.