Are strict boarder policies hurting American tourism?

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As I contemplate a trip to Chicago this coming August to see Lollapalooza, I feel some anxiety. Not particularly about the potential mosh pits or crowd surfing at the concert, and not due to finding my way around a strange city, but rather due to crossing the U.S. border.

You see I’m a Canadian citizen, and since September 11, 2001 strict boarder control has made crossing boarders into the
U.S. particularly stressful.

It seems many foreigners feel my pain…or rather my anxiety at the thought of making a trip to the United States. Yahoo news reports that billions of dollars have been lost on foreign tourism to America since September 11, 2001.

Roger Dow, the president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association, blames the dip in U.S. tourism and tourist dollars on the strict boarder practices that were instated post 9/11, urging tourists to opt for vacations in other countries around the world.

Dow quotes Commerce Department statistic that showed that visits to the United States are down by 17 percent from 26 million in 2000; while cross-border travel around the world was up by 20%, and continues to grow. Dow says the strict security precautions are sending a severe blow to the American tourism economy, “Travel worldwide has multiplied…” says Dow, “…and other nations [are] reaping the benefits”.

So the question is how should the U.S. protect their boards while drawing the tourists?

That’s where the marketing team comes in. It seems, according to the U.S. Travel Association’ chief executive, that the
U.S. has consistently spent nada, zilch, zero on tourism. With other countries in Europe and Asia spending billions of dollars on promotion how is the U.S. supposed to compete?

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee passed a bill in late June that will see the creation of a national travel promotion corporation and a travel promotion fund - and hopefully help improve the U.S.’s dragging tourism.

What is your take? Should the U.S. reduce their stringent boarder policies to fuel tourism?