Faisal
January 9, 2007, 8:47pm
50
Re: US to fingerprint all visitors.
I think travel industry in the US may be a better bet to protest against these kind of non-welcoming procedures. Civil liberties groups are usually told to take a hike.
Here is a related news story (excerpts only). Its a bit dated (Nov 20, 2006) but kinda proves the point.
U.S. is most unfriendly country to visitors, survey says ](http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-11-20T220700Z_01_N20294102_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-IMAGE.xml&WTmodLoc=USNewsHome_C1_%255BFeed%255D-5 )
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rude immigration officials and visa delays keep millions of foreign visitors away from the United States, hurt the country’s already battered image, and cost the U.S. billions of dollars in lost revenue, according to an advocacy group formed to push for a better system.
To drive home the point, the Discover America Partnership released the result of a global survey on Monday which showed that international travelers see the United States as the world’s worst country in terms of getting a visa and, once you have it, making your way past rude immigration officials.
The survey showed that the United States was ranked “the worst” in terms of visas and immigration procedures by twice the percentage of travellers as the next destination regarded as unfriendly – the Middle East and the Asian subcontinent.
More than half of the travelers surveyed said U.S. immigration officials were rude and two-thirds said they feared they would be detained on arriving in the United States for a simple mistake in their paperwork or for saying the wrong thing to an immigration official.
The survey was taken between Oct. 25 and Nov. 9 against the backdrop of growing concern in parts of the U.S. business community over a steady decline in the number of foreigners visiting the United States.
Travel Industry Association statistics show that the U.S. share in world tourism declined from 7.4 percent in 2000 to 6 percent last year. A one-percentage point increase, according to the association, would mean 7.5 million additional arrivals, $12.3 billion in additional spending, 150,000 additional U.S. jobs, $3.3 billion in additional payroll and $2.1. billion in additional taxes.