Winging It: Some see post-9/11 screening as barrier

Another anniversary of 9/11 last week brought back vivid memories of that beautifully sunny - and terrifying - morning seven years ago. Victims of the attacks were remembered, as they should be, in ceremonies across the country.

The anniversary also makes it a good time to look at all the far-reaching effects the day has had on air travel. Taking off your shoes at airport checkpoints may be a hassle. But that and the countless other ways we're screened now appear to have drastically cut the odds we'll face similar attacks in the future.

To many, a major component of keeping us safe was creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the massive bureaucracy spawned by 9/11 that includes the Transportation Security and Customs and Border Protection agencies.

The anniversary made it a natural time for the department to put a lengthy news release, titled "9/11 Progress, Priorities Fact Sheet," on its Web site (

» READ MORE: www.dhs.gov

).

The release recounts in detail just how broad a net has been cast to keep "dangerous people" and "dangerous goods" out of the country.

Homeland Security didn't mention, of course, how foreign travel to the United States has been hampered by the zeal to protect our borders, as well as American foreign policy and competition from other countries.

The number of foreign visitors was up 11 percent in the first six months of this year compared with 2007, with about half of those coming from Canada and Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. A great deal of that increase can be attributed to the weak dollar, which has made us a bargain to most travelers from abroad.

But in contrast to pre-9/11 days, the number of overseas visitors we're seeing, especially from Europe, is way off. The total was 24 million last year, an 8 percent decline compared with the peak year of 2000. (Philadelphia visitor numbers are an exception to this trend - more on that in a moment.)

The downturn is one reason industry organizations are asking Congress for help with promoting travel to this country and communicating to would-be visitors how to jump through the hoops necessary to get in.

The Travel Industry Association of America, in testimony on the 9/11 anniversary to a House subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection, laid out the case for channeling money to marketing the country better overseas and to making the entry process friendlier.

"Millions of overseas travelers are avoiding the U.S. due to concerns over long delays in visa issuance and an unfriendly and complicated entry experience-both of which have lead to a global perception that foreign visitors are not as welcome as they were prior to 9/11," Geoffrey Freeman, a senior vice president of the association, testified. "Making matters worse, the foreign press has fueled negative perceptions and encouraged foreign nationals not to travel."

Freeman quoted from a Sunday Times of London story earlier this year with the headline, "Travel to America? No Thanks."

"Nowhere else can a visitor expect such a spirit-crushingly frosty reception," the article said. "A preflight e-interrogation, epic queues at immigration, thin-lipped questioning from aggressive border guards and an outside chance of a rubber-gloved rectal rummage. . .." The story went on to offer Britons a list of friendlier countries to visit.

The association, which represents 1,700 public and private travel groups and companies, noted the economic value of overseas visitors: They spend on average $4,000 per trip compared with $376 for domestic travelers, or $1,200 for Mexican or Canadian travelers, Freeman said.

Legislation the association supports calls for spending $100 million a year on promotion, using private-sector donations and a $10 fee paid by visitors from countries in the U.S. visa waiver program. The United States is one of the few countries that now doesn't charge entry or exit fees, Freeman said.

(Freeman's complete testimony can be found on the Travel Industry Association Web site,

» READ MORE: www.tia.org

.)

In Philadelphia, the power of good marketing to foreign travelers has been a given for years. With the help of about $2.8 million annually in state and local funds promoting the region, the number of visitors has grown to about 500,000 a year in 2007, compared with fewer than 400,000 before 9/11, according to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Fritz Smith, the bureau's tourism vice president, said Philadelphia is one of only a handful of U.S. cities that has seen increases in visitors in recent years. "We're an example of what happens when a destination spends some money," Smith said. "It does work. We think that we as well as every other international market would get more if there were a better marketing effort."

Now, we just need Congress to do its part.