Why Tourism Strengthens America

By Gary Shapiro

While most countries invest heavily in tourism, the U.S. has taken its international visitors – and their pocketbooks – for granted. Even so, the U.S. tourism economy has done well, thanks to world-class cities, national parks and attractions like Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Walt Disney World.

But our welcoming borders have been tested by our growing security concerns. Since September 11, 2001, we have tried to balance our security with our hospitality. Both the Bush and Obama administrations worked to extend the welcome mat to foreign guests. And in 2010, Obama signed the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act, creating a marketing mechanism to encourage more international visitors. Policymakers agreed international guests create U.S. jobs, pay American sales taxes and require few government services. In fact, on average, each overseas traveler spends more than $4,000 and stays 18 nights when he or she visits the U.S. In other words, they are great for our economy.

 The beginning of 2017 was a tough time for tourism. In the first quarter of this year, international visitors to the U.S. fell four percent – and European visitors dropped a startling ten percent. All told, nearly 700,000 fewer people visited the U.S. in quarter one of 2017 than in the same time period the year before. And while it's difficult to point to one single cause for the drop, it’s also hard to ignore the impact of President Trump’s attempted travel ban. In February, when pressed at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the travel ban, I said it would be harmful to U.S. business. Sadly, the first-quarter numbers proved my assertion correct.

The good news is that we’re starting to bounce back. Spending on tourism in the second quarter grew, increasing at an annual rate of 4.9 percent. Even more encouraging, we’ve seen similar shifts in the economy as a whole: Our GDP grew by three percent, surpassing the 1.2 percent growth of the first quarter.

 This is good news for all industries, but it’s particularly good news for the tech industry. Each year, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) puts on the world's largest tech event, CES?, in January in Las Vegas. We need to maintain the show’s world-class status. And for that to happen, our country must continue to welcome international visitors. Roughly one-third of CES’s 180,000 attendees live outside the U.S. That number continues to grow and is up 11 percent in the last year alone.

International visitors pump millions into the U.S. economy. Bringing them to the U.S. also creates new business partnership opportunities for U.S. companies that lead to job creation. More than 15 million jobs are supported by travel, including 8.6 million directly in the travel industry and 6.7 million in other industries. We are working hard, with support from the Trump administration and its embassies, to bolster our attractiveness to foreign guests.

If the U.S. is to remain welcoming for travelers, we need to be mindful of security but also be welcoming and respectful towards those interested in traveling here to spend their time and money. We should make sure our policies reflect our economic and social values.

The world needs to meet Americans one-on-one so they understand and appreciate our warmth, culture and principles. We are entering a new era where our democratic values of freedom of religion, speech, assembly, access to information and communication are being tested by the rise of totalitarian regimes. At this crucial time, we want as many people as possible to experience the benefits our freedoms bring.

The U.S. is a beacon for business travelers, vacationing visitors and scholars from around the globe. Let’s keep the light shining brightly and welcome those who can help make our country better.

Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,200 consumer technology companies, and author of the New York Times best-selling books, Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World's Most Successful Businesses and The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream. His views are his own. Connect with him on Twitter: @GaryShapiro