The United States has long been passive vis à vis incoming tourism.
Visa restrictions have discouraged visitors from coming to America. In order to encourage tourists in source markets to visit (similar to the Tunisian ad campaign in France), a hybrid public/private initiative is being formed. The Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP) is scheduled to be launched this fall and its CEO is a former Best Western International and Hyatt Hotels executive, Jim Evans.The Spanish were much quicker in tapping into the Chinese source market through the Sol Meliá-Jing Jiang venture in which there is an exchange of business know-how, culture, and staff between the two groups.Kersten Gasthuber, a vice president at American Tours International, said, "The U.S. needs to improve its image abroad and its entry system."One of the priorities for the CTP will undeniably be China, as it was on the agenda at America's inbound travel industry’s major annual "marketplace" (the International Pow Wow).The Spanish were much quicker in tapping into the Chinese source market through the Sol Meliá-Jing Jiang venture in which there is an exchange of business know-how, culture, and staff between the two groups.
