Klobuchar, Blunt Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Increase International Tourism and Boost Local Economies

Press Release

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) today introduced bipartisan legislation to increase international tourism to the U.S. and boost local economies. The International Tourism Facilitation Act would help alleviate excessively long wait times for international travelers to receive U.S. visas by allowing the State Department the flexibility to streamline and expand their processing services without compromising the security of our borders or our citizens. Senators Klobuchar and Blunt are co-chairs of the Senate Tourism Caucus and chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate subcommittee that oversees the U.S. tourism industry.

"Tourism is a powerful engine for job creation in Minnesota and local communities across the country," Klobuchar said."By making it easier to travel to the United States without compromising important national security safeguards, we can stimulate local economies and help our businesses grow and thrive."

"The international travel industry has grown by 40 percent over the past decade. Unfortunately, America's share of the international travel market has remained stagnant -- in part due to our country's visa policies," said Blunt."Tourism is an important industry for states like Missouri, which is why I support efforts to reestablish our country as a leading international travel destination. By streamlining our visa processing system without jeopardizing our nation's security, we can help spur economic development and job creation in Missouri and across America."

International tourism plays an important role in creating U.S. jobs and boosting local economies. In Minnesota, tourism is the fifth largest industry in the state, generating $11 billion in annual sales and providing nearly 11% of total private sector employment. In 2010, each overseas visitor to the United States spent an average of $4,000 during their stay and total international travel spending supported 1.1 million American jobs. Furthermore, the tourism industry added nearly 106,000 jobs in the first seven months of 2011, which represents 10 percent of all jobs created so far this year in the United States.

However, the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world in the international tourism market. Oxford Economics and Commerce Department data show that the United States' share of overseas arrivals fell from 17 to 12.4 percent since 2000. By contrast, worldwide long-haul travel grew by 40 percent during this timeframe. Losing one percentage point of the total world international travel market potentially costs the United States 161,000 jobs.

A growing problem for U.S. tourism is the extraordinarily long time foreign visitors have to wait to receive a U.S. tourist visa. In countries such as Brazil, it can take up to 150 days to obtain a United States visa, while it takes Brazilian citizens approximately 12 days to receive a similar visa to the United Kingdom.

The senators' legislation would help alleviate the excessively long wait times at some embassies and consulates and help give the State Department the tools and incentives it needs to address this pressing issue. The bill would:

· Incentivize the State Department -- without risking security -- to improve the visa process by allowing the Department to reinvest fees charged for visas if the Department improves the efficiency with which it processes visas.

· Allow the Secretary of State, in appropriate circumstances, to grant a waiver of up to 3 additional years (4 years total) for foreigners to renew their tourist visas without requiring the tourist to go through another in-person interview.

· Require the State Department to provide a report to Congress outlining how the Department uses the Department of Commerce's travel data and incorporates these data.

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