Global visits to U.S. pass pre-9/11 rate

The number of international visitors to the United States last year for the first time surpassed the number of visitors in 2000, before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks prompted the number of international arrivals to plummet.

A record 56.7 million international visitors came to the U.S. last year, an 11 percent increase from 2006 and more than the 51.2 million who visited in 2000, according to figures released yesterday from the U.S. Commerce Department.

Those international visitors spent a record $122.7 billion last year in the U.S. —a 14 percent increase from 2006.

“At a time that our economy is sluggish in other parts, such as the housing market, it’s great to have a bright spot such as tourism that is adding energy and growth to our economy,” Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told reporters yesterday.

The travel industry, however, attributed much of the increase in the number of international travelers to more visits from Canadians and Mexicans. The number of overseas travelers hasn’t rebounded since 2000, according to the Travel Industry Association (TIA), a Washington trade group.

About 23.9 million overseas visitors arrived last year. The number was a 10 percent increase from 2006 but is still below the 26 million that came in 2000.

Overseas travelers spend more money than their North American counterparts do while in the U.S., according to the TIA, and their experiences here do more to quell anti-American attitudes in the rest of the world.

“In the current economic environment, the United States should be setting overseas travel records rather than inching back to pre-9/11 standards,” said Roger Dow, TIA chief executive.

The TIA and the Discover America Partnership, a travel lobbying group, are urging the federal government to do more to make international travelers feel welcome as they undergo background checks and fingerprinting designed to secure the country’s borders against the threat of terrorism.

The groups want the U.S. government to make it easier to get a visa, improve airports and ports of entry, and start a promotional campaign.

“We believe our role in the federal government is to do two out of those three,” Mr. Gutierrez said.

He brushed aside calls for a promotional campaign, as suggested by the TIA, that would be funded by charging tourists a fee to enter the country and a match by the private sector.

“In terms of advertising and promotion, we believe that is very much a private-sector role,” Mr. Gutierrez said.