Report: Obama will ease tourism red tape

Ending red tape for foreign travelers wanting to visit the United States will pump billions of dollars into the economy, tourist and business groups said. Restoring tourism to 2001 levels -- before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- would create 1.3 million jobs and add $860 billion in economic activity by 2020, the U.S. Travel Association and National Retail Federation said, as President Barack Obama was expected to announce plans Thursday to make it easier and faster for foreign visitors to get tourist visas and go through customs. The White House released few details of the announcement Wednesday, but presidential spokesman Jay Carney said Obama would "unveil a strategy that will significantly help boost tourism and travel, which is an important and sometimes overlooked sector in the U.S. economy." Obama was to make the announcement at one of the biggest U.S. tourist destinations -- Walt Disney World, near Orlando, Fla. -- at 12:35 p.m. EST, the White House said. The trip to the election battleground state of Florida was to be part of Obama's "We Can't Wait" campaign to show he can take action without support from Republicans in Congress. Obama's announcement was expected to include making permanent a pilot program, started in 2007, called Global Entry, which cuts down clearance times at U.S. customs checkpoints for "preapproved low-risk travelers" arriving in the United States, The Hill reported. The program lets travelers who've passed background and fingerprint checks swipe their passports at a kiosk and head to baggage claim without the usual line to clear customs. Obama was also expected to announce additional positions at visa offices in China and Brazil, where demand for U.S. tourist visas is especially high, The Hill said. Chinese visitors spend an average of $6,243 during a U.S. trip and Brazilians spend an average $4,940, the U.S. Travel Association said. The 1.2 million Brazilians who visited the United States in 2010 represented a 33 percent increase from 2009, U.S. Commerce Department figures cited by USA Today indicate. The growth will likely be more than 25 percent this year. The 801,738 Chinese who visited in 2010 represented a 53 percent increase from 2009, with the pace forecast to increase another 37 percent this year. Only five cities in China and four in Brazil have consular offices. Would-be travelers in China typically wait as long as 120 days for a visa, while in Brazil the wait is at least 75 days, the travel association said. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., has introduced a bill calling for visas to be processed in 12 days for travelers from Brazil, China and India by using visa fees to hire more consular staff. The State Department said in November 2011 it would hire 50 more staff members in China and 50 more in Brazil this year.