International travelers are also desirable because they spend more than U.S. travelers. These are people who have the chance to get on an airplane for the first time. The Travel Industry Association, a trade group for the industry, has launched its own marketing effort focused in Great Britain, Japan and Brazil. The SeeAmerica print campaigns have already shown results for some of the companies that participated. Universal Studios Recreation Group saw a surge of inquiries about the company s theme parks in Florida and California after ads ran in Britain, said Fred Lounsberry, the company s senior vice president for sales.
Tourism is the nation s third-largest retail sales industry, according to industry figures.
The U.S. Department of Commerce still does research on international travel, and nearly every U.S. state and major city promotes its attractions, said Helen Marano, the department s acting deputy assistant secretary. This country is well-supported by individual state and city funding in the marketplace. Many in the travel industry disagree. Without a unified front promoting U.S. tourism, cities and states compete with each other for the same international tourists and conventions, said Bob Schultz, an official with the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Bureau. We re competing alone, while Beijing and Paris have their governments behind them.