Bill aims to boost tourism, jolt U.S. economy

A growing problem for U.S. tourism is long wait times receive a U.S. tourist visa. In countries such as Brazil, the wait can last up to 150 days, while it takes approximately 12 days to receive a similar visa for the United Kingdom, according to the senators. 

In 2010, each overseas visitor to the United States spent an average of $4,000 during their stay with all travel spending supporting 1.1 million American jobs, the senators said. The industry added nearly 106,000 jobs in the first seven months of 2011, representing 10 percent of all jobs created so far this year.

“The international travel industry has grown by 40 percent over the past decade,” Blunt said. “Unfortunately, America’s share of the international travel market has remained stagnant, in part due to our country’s visa policies,” he said. 

The U.S. share of overseas arrivals fell from 17 to 12.4 percent since 2000, according to Oxford Economics and Commerce Department data.  

By contrast, worldwide long-haul travel grew by 40 percent during the period. Losing 1 percentage point of the total world international travel market potentially costs the United States 161,000 jobs, the senators said.