What is the Travel Promotion Act?

Recently, it was announced that the United States is to create a $10 visa surcharge for all visitors to the United States in their efforts to fund a program that boosts tourism. It would seem that they want to ‘boost’ tourism by making people that don’t need a visa pay another $10.

The Travel Promotion Act is supposedly going to raise around $200 million dollars annually that will be spent on boosting tourism. Senate has now passed the bill which will apparently help the much battered American tourism industry, which has yet to recover since the devastating attacks of 9/11.

With the economic crisis also having a rather devastating impact, many people are under the impression that these new changes will rescue the much ailing tourist industry. Opinion is divided though as it also encourages that everyone who is entitled to a free visa on arrival should be forced to pay a $10 surcharge. Compared to the $131 visa that other nations have to pay, surely it’s a bargain.

However, Europe is not impressed and the worldwide travel industry expects some degree of retaliation if its citizens are forced to pay. After all, this bill is supposed to promote tourism not charge for entry to the United States.

But then again, the US tourism industry is worth around $740 billion dollars a year and if the senate does not do something quick, many thousands of people will lose their jobs as analysts have predicted that tourism figures are down by around 46 million visitors a year.

What exactly will happen in regards to these latest plans is unsure, and who exactly the $200 million will help is unclear, but one thing’s for sure it may very well be a very expensive $10 dollar surcharge for the United States government.

This new bill will affect only those who do not require a visa. Effectively, it’s an arrival tax, but the question is – would you accept being forced to pay $10 to visit the United States? Or is it simply another step too far for capitalist America?