From Visas to Visitors—More Travel, More Tourists, More Jobs

Posted by Tara D. Sonenshine / October 02, 2012

Tara Sonenshine serves as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

We at the State Department are well aware of the dynamic global tourism market of the 21st century -- and the opportunities it presents to expand our trade and investment everywhere. So we are working to promote and support our own travel and tourism industry to engender jobs and business for our citizens, and to make travelling to the United States as welcoming as possible.

Last week, we celebrated UN World Tourism Day, which the United Nations World Tourism Organization observes every year to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political, and economic value. And today, for the first time, our Travel and Tourism Conference will bring together leaders from the travel and tourism industry to find new and better ways to welcome visitors to the United States.

By exploring new partnerships and avenues of opportunity, we will support the goals of President Obama's National Tourism Strategy and Executive Order 13597, and be able to engage in a thoughtful, actionable dialogue. Our conversations will explore how we can create more business by facilitating visa and port of entry processing without compromising security; and how we can work together to market and promote the United States overseas.

We believe in "jobs diplomacy," and we are leading the effort overseas to support international travel and tourism every day. Our consular, economic, and public diplomacy officers do this each time they issue a visa, meet with travel and tourism industry leaders overseas, or launch a tourism campaign that highlights the best destinations within each of our 50 states. We are excited about the renewed efforts we are making through embassies around the world to promote travel to the United States.

Nothing is more persuasive than face to face accounts, so we are engaging people directly, whether it's Ambassador David B. Shear talking to audiences in Hanoi about his favorite destination spots in the U.S., or Julie Judkins, manager for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, engaging with government and tourism officials in Tajikistan. And in her introductory video to the citizens of Lithuania, Charge d'Affaires Anne Hall has made a compelling case for visiting her home state of Maine.

We are seeking innovative ways to promote travel, too. At the American Center in New Delhi, we will show classic Hollywood films highlighting different parts of the United States, as we engage with travel agents. And in Panama, we are exploring opportunities to offer culinary tours to the United States as prizes on the popular "Super Chef Panama" TV competition.

We are promoting travel with posters or videos in our embassies and consulates overseas. We are engaging with travel agents at trade shows. Through social media, we are promoting online competitions, or asking young people to share the places they most want to visit. And we are directing embassy webpage visitors to see our promotional video, "Visit America: It's Easier than You Think."

We are working everywhere to support President Obama's message to the world: America is open for business and we welcome all travelers and tourists to our shores. We hope everyone reading this will make the United States their next destination -- and encourage their friends to do the same!

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