NEW YORK — As countries around the world strive to simplify travel and woo more international travelers to their shores, experts say the U.S. is falling behind and risks long-term market share losses.
During the "International Inbound Demand" session at the 2024 NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, Kevin McAleenan, former acting secretary of Homeland Security, said the U.S. is falling behind in investment for travel infrastructure and personnel and doesn't have the "shared vision" required to improve things. He said embracing technology in security screenings is another area the country is falling behind in.
"We're seeing from international leaders in the space really comprehensive use of biometrics," he said. "The traveler adapted to biometrics as an opportunity to have a more seamless process. They are comfortable with it. Facial recognition has emerged as a key technology in this space. We need to provide ubiquitous access to that for the international arrivals process. That changes the flow and allows for higher-capacity arrivals."
Kevin Carey, interim president and CEO of the American Hotels & Lodging Association, said that strong international travel is key for the long-term health of the hotel industry in part because "international travelers stay longer and spend more."
More than four years after the global onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. has reclaimed just 84% of its pre-pandemic international arrivals, said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. He added the hurdle the country faces isn't a demand issue, as "in general, interest in visiting the United States is as great as ever." Instead, the problem is related to the strength of the dollar, staffing problems leading to long waits at customs checkpoints and problems with things such as visa wait times.
"We've got visa issues," Freeman said. "Forty-five percent of travelers who come to the United States have to interview for a visa. If you're in Colombia, right now, the wait time to get an interview for that visa is 750 days. That wait is also mimicked in Mexico. It's not much better in India and Brazil. It's getting better, but it's still well over 200 days."
There are several countries making coordinated efforts to secure more agreements for visa-free travel with other countries and significantly cut down visa wait times to become more attractive destinations, Freeman said.
"We've got these loose ends all over the place without that type of national leadership," he said.
Freeman said the U.S. has enjoyed an outsize economic benefit from being the top international travel destination for decades, but now with so many barriers for travelers, other countries see a financial opportunity in trying to aggressively woo them away from U.S. destinations.
"Countries are asking themselves, where are our opportunities to take travelers away from another market, often the U.S.," he said. "What are the weaknesses we need to address? In the last year, Canada added 12 new countries to travel there visa-free. All 12 of those countries were countries that were required to get a visa to come to the United States. Not just that, all 12 of those countries are where we are struggling with the visa process. It is not a coincidence Canada did that."
China and Saudi Arabia are making strides to simplify international travel greatly, Freeman added.
Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC Tourism and Conventions who will soon take over as president and CEO of Brand USA, said he'd also like to see the U.S. become more competitive in drawing international group and meetings demand, which he noted is vitally important for hotels. To make that happen, businesspeople need to make their voices heard with the government to know it's a priority.
"We need, obviously, more frictionless travel to make that happen," he said. "And one of the challenges we've had over the past is the long wait times for visas. So it does call for a coordinated effort. I think being in lockstep across [the travel] industry and with our association partners in Washington, aligning our marketing messages ... there's a tremendous amount that can happen there."