Fewer Visitors, Foreign Students to US

The combination of hurricane damage to tourist spots, stringent security and visa application procedures and a general sense of anti-Americanism abroad has resulted in fewer visitors to the US over the past several years.

According to the Travel Industry Association (TIA), overseas travel to the United States has declined by 15% since 2000, and visa applications have dropped by a third since 9/11. This is significant, since overseas tourism contributed $93 billion to the US economy in 2004.

As a result, the US tourism industry is expected to launch an aggressive marketing and PR campaign to improve America's image abroad and promote US tourism. It may also support fewer entry restrictions, a move that would certainly put it at odds with security organizations.

On top of this, fewer foreign students are applying to US universities... reducing the overall student pool, and forcing schools to become more aggressive in their recruiting. Smaller colleges without name recognition or big marketing budgets could be especially hard hit over the next few years.

Source: Herman Group