U.S. Travel Association Condemns Marketing campaign to Undermine World Cup Travel to the United States

Statement by Geoff Freeman, President & CEO, U.S. Travel Association

Let’s say the quiet half out loud: the marketing campaign by civil society organizations to discourage World Cup journey is not about defending guests. It’s about utilizing the livelihoods of American staff and companies as leverage to affect insurance policies they oppose.

That’s not advocacy. That’s sabotage.

Are there legit issues about U.S. entry insurance policies proper now? Yes — and we have mentioned so publicly. Has the Trump administration made progress in quite a few areas? Unequivocally. Let’s deal the truth is, not fiction. For instance, the variety of vacationers detained at Customs to have their gadgets searched is a distinction of lower than 0.01% between the Biden and Trump administrations in keeping with official Customs and Border Protection information.

We proceed to oppose potential visa charges, social media screening, and insurance policies that make the U.S. much less aggressive as a vacation spot. We say that straight, together with to the Administration itself. But discouraging journey by calling the U.S. unsafe for guests is a special factor completely. 67 million worldwide vacationers got here to the United States final 12 months. The notion that visiting America poses a significant security threat shouldn’t be a good-faith warning, it is a political tactic designed to trigger financial hurt.

There are legit methods to problem insurance policies you oppose. Harming the livelihoods of American staff and companies by scary away guests is not one in every of them. We’ll hold doing it in a different way: making the sincere case, staying within the room, and combating for an America that is open, aggressive, and definitely worth the journey.