« April employment | Main | Pyromaniac tourism »
May 9, 2005
US brand and the closing of the borders
The tourism industry is warning that the US brand is in danger of erosion, according to a recent story in the Financial Times, US tourism 'losing billions because of image':
The US is losing billions of dollars as international tourists are deterred from visiting the US because of a tarnished image overseas and more bureaucratic visa policies, travel industry leaders have warned.
"It's an economic imperative to address these problems," said Roger Dow, chief executive of the Travel Industry Association of America, tourism's main trade body, which concluded its annual convention this weekend in New York.
Mr. Dow stressed that tourism contributed to a positive perception of the US, which spread across to business. "If we don't address these issues in tourism, the long-term impact for American brands Coca-Cola, General Motors, McDonald's could be very damaging," he said.
The problem is the heightened security for visitors to the US:
The plea echoed that of other industry trade organisations which say bureaucratic visa procedures and stringent security after the September 11 terrorist attacks have deterred business travellers and foreign students. "The idea has gotten out that we've pulled in the welcome mat," said Rick Webster, the association's director of government affairs.
This is the first time I have seen anyone make the link between tourism to the US and the purchase of US brandnames abroad. It makes sense, but I thought the more powerful link was between American TV and movies and the consumption of US products. Kids who have never been to the US still crave Coca-Cola and McDonald's.
I would be more concerned about the direct impact of the loss of foreign revenues from tourism than from the indirect impact on US brands. The revenue loss is cause for worry in and of itself.
Likewise, as Richard Florida points out in his new book, "Flight of the Creative Class," to the extend that we are perceived as pulling in the welcome mat, the flow of talent and ideas to this country is greatly diminished. That is not healthy for our national innovation system and our future economic prosperity.
(More on the Florida book later.)
Posted by Ken Jarboe at May 9, 2005 10:21 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.athenaalliance.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/116