Come see America! (Please?)
When I went to the US for an extraordinary month-long holiday last August, I constantly found myself surprised at paying the same numerical value for goods as I would in England. Then, just as now, the dollar was worth 50p which meant the US had a figurative ‘Half off!’ sign across every port. The federal government is atypical in its stance on tourism: most other countries have dedicated agencies for courting well-heeled foreigners to spend their currency in your nation. The US left this to state governments and following California’s splashy $4.5 million ad campaign this week, I reflected on what it is like to be a visitor to America.
On the one hand there are the expensive campaigns. In 2004, the memorable ‘You’ve seen the movies, now visit the set’ ads played on a variety of TV channels. Following the Californian ad, designed by MeringCarson, that ad began playing again. By all accounts these campaigns are working; the Commerce Department reported a 7% increase in number of visitors to 23.3 million, but closer inspection reveals this is still lower than the pre-9/11 figure of 26 million per year.
The BBC ran a series of interviews with Brits in New York over the holiday week asking why they were there. Invariably, the response was along the lines of ‘half off Christmas presents!’ This apparent success and the 7% rise suggests things are on the way up, however anyone who has visited a US Embassy to try to secure a visa recently will know that the new anti-terroism measures makes any possible visit to the US from countries whose citizens are required to have a visa extremely cumbersome.
If the US wants to streamline immigration policy, which does mean losing the somewhat absurd security policies, it would likely see a massive increase in tourism. Which would mean more cash into the economy. As anyone keeping an eye on the current state of the US economy can tell you, more cash is desperately needed. Keep that machine oiled, and let me visit the Statue of Liberty without leaving my dignity at the metal detector.
