Worldly Chatter

An interesting news piece for those traveling to the US: According to the associated press, Congress plans to create a non-profit organization to help promote travel to the US. This organization would not only promote travel to the US but also clear up any misperceptions about US travel policies. It would work with other agencies on fixing visa policies and entry processes that discourage visits. Since 9/11 tourism has dropped, as was expected, however, it hasn’t stopped going down.

JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer “The global pie of international travel is steadily increasing, while the U.S. share has been slowly decreasing,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association.
Visits from the six countries that provide the most tourists — Britain, Japan, Germany, France, South Korea and Australia — have dropped 15 percent since 2000 while travel from those six to other countries was up a robust 39 percent.

Interesting isn’t it that these countries will go elsewhere rather than go to America. I am going to fill you in on something. There isn’t much in way of misperceptions when it comes to entering America. All the scary stuff people hear really does happen.
Take for example two people who want to enter the country for a vacation, they fill out the proper forms and hand them in to customs. They are average people with no record of any kind but banned from entering the country. How can that be? Well, when families enter the country they fill out visa wavers and other forms stating they are traveling together and they are in fact a family. Yet these two people were two men who happened to be gay and married according to their country’s laws. The US does NOT acknowledge gay marriage therefore the form they filled out was wrong, they are not a family, and they are not married and therefore cannot enter.

Your landing at JFK all stoked to be on solid ground and ready to conquer it all! It is vacation time! You have been to America before so nothing is new to you. You hand in your paperwork and hand over your passport but there is a problem. The last time you entered the country you forgot to hand in your visa waiver! According to the system, you have been in America for four years now! However, how can that be since the ONLY way to get to the booth you are currently standing in front of is from the landing area where your plane is still sitting on! There is NO way to enter the area from the rest of the airport unless you are personnel. Therefore, you stand there and explain what happened. You tell them you have just landed; you left America and went back to your country. You have an employer, friends, and family who can vouch for your existence there. Ye gods, why would you want to stay; you are beginning to think to yourself! Meanwhile, though all the explanation and proof of you leaving the man behind the overly tall booth belittles you, harasses you and treats you like a common criminal! Right next to you is a man who is in shackles because he did not have the right work visa therefore being deported. The fact that your English sounds like that of a native is another thing crawling under his skin so he nags at you about that. ‘Sounds like you have been here a nice while’, never mind the fact that other nations speak English and rather well, he pushes the issue and wants to know how you learned to speak English so well if it isn’t your mother tongue. ‘Do you want to end up like that guy? You better start cooperating. If you aren’t careful you will end up like that.’ While he points to the deportee in shackles. ‘Are you married?’ Yes. ‘Where is your husband then?’ Back at home. ‘Why are you traveling alone then?’ The drama goes on for some time, nagging, harassing, belittling and staring you down until you feel like you should be on the floor! Proof of your ability to take care of yourself financially is necessary. Prove you were in your place of birth! Drivers license, passport, bankcards from homeland all done within a year are not good enough proof. Where are your receipts! No, you don’t empty your wallet before vacation! No receipts, incites more aggravation and belittling from the man in the tall booth. Finally after a good hour or so with the man behind his booth, staring you down and showing he is boss, lets you through. Only because a nice man who was also on your flight (most likely a sky marshall) came to your aide and told the official that you were actually on the flight that just landed in New York. What a way to start your stay in American huh?

Well, the first story is factual. It actually made news it was that dramatic of an affair. The second story that is actually Dutchies second time into America. Her third trip was a doozy too because even though her name was cleared they still felt it necessary to bust her balls a bit more.

I tell you this because our government feels the drop in tourism. It is slipping more and more and these stories are just some of the reasons why. Rules change, some countries need visas to enter while others don’t. They interrogate you if you don’t breathe right. It is a mess. The last time Dutchie and I entered America went all right but it wasn’t a ‘welcome to America and enjoy your stay’ atmosphere. You feel like you are guilty of something when you land. How is that going to bring people wanting more? Those misperceptions they want to clear up, they might want to realize that they are facts, not misperceptions and do something about it so people will WANT to come to America and bring their money.

worldly chatter, tourism in the US, travel to the US, visa waivers, getting into America