The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that is designed to bring more international visitors to the United States but also charges many of them $10 fees to help finance new promotional efforts aimed at potential tourists around the world.
The legislation passed 358-66. It will establish a nonprofit corporation that would oversee international marketing efforts. The measure will go next to the Senate, which already passed similar legislation this year.
About 58 million international travelers visited the United States last year. Industry officials say millions of potential visitors are looking elsewhere because of enhanced border security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and because of negative coverage from foreign media outlets.
"Every part of the United States has something special to offer," said Democratic Rep. Sam Farr, "yet we never take advantage of telling anybody overseas about that. You watch television today and there's countries all over the world advertising for you to come there. We're not doing that. This allows us to do that, but with private money, not taxpayer money."
Much of the money for the promotional efforts will come from fees paid by the travel industry. The rest would come from the $10 fees on international visitors.
The United States began requiring people who do not need visas to register online at least 72 hours before travel and renew their registration every two years. If the new proposal should become law, it would require a potential visitor to pay the $10 fee when registering.
The European Union has said that some U.S. travelers to Europe could face retaliatory fees. But Farr said the U.S. fee is less than what many other countries charge U.S. visitors.
Lawmakers from congressional districts particularly reliant on tourism rallied for the bill. Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, who represents tourism-reliant Nevada, said the United States lost 200,000 tourism-related jobs last year, and her district was particularly hit hard. She said economists project that every dollar spent on this program will bring an additional $3 to the United States through greater spending by international visitors.
However, the Club for Growth, a fundraising group that supports conservatives, urged lawmakers to vote no on the bill.
"This inefficient allocation of money would prevent tourists from spending that same money on shopping, food and other expenses," the organization said.
A far better alternative, the Club for Growth said, would be to cut the corporate income taxes for the tourism industry.
