Evening star., 1940-06-17
'TraveI-America'
Drive Seen BOOSTING
Visitors 10 Capital
Officials Estimate Jump
Of J Per Cent in First
Five Months of 1910
By OLIVER MCKEE.

season, are Spee0lnR up Cnelr 1TdV-
el America Year" drive, Curtis
Hodges, promotion director of the
Greater National Capital Commit
tee of the Washington Board OF
Trade has estimated that the num-
Der of visitors to Washington dur
ing the first five months of 194c
had increased per cent over the
corresponding period of 1899. Based
on these figures, and the inquiries
which he is receiving from outside,
he predicts that Washington will
play host this year to as many, If not
more visitors than in 1899, which
showed 20 per cent increase in the
number of visitors over 1888.
BY proclamation of President
Roosevelt, 1910 is Travel America
Year" Through the United States
Travel Bureau, in the Department OF
Interior, the Federal Government is
seeking to promote Western Hemi-
sphere travel. In this campaign the
bureau has the cooperation of sew
eral other Federal agencies, and
the Pan American Union, which has
its own travel division.
Spent $500, 900, 900 in 1899.
According to estimates of Federal
experts, the American people spent
last year about $500, ,000, 900 for
travel and other recreational pur-
poses. Recreational expenditures in
1910 will reach $4,000, ,0O0,0 900 or more,
w. Bruce MacNamee, chief Of the
United States Travel Bureau. pre-
dicted yesterday. Last year visitors
to the National Parks totaled about
100000. This year he believes
that. attendance will run several
millions higher than this.
In peace time, American tourists
spend about s300,0O0,0 900 in Europe
With tourists barred from most OF
Europe, more money will be spent
by Americans for travel in the
Western Hemisphere, Mr.. McNamee
believes.
According to estimates Of the
United States Travel Bureau, Latin
Americans spend about $15O,000, 900
annually on their European holl-
days. Because of the war, few
Latin Americans are visiting Eu-
rope this year, and the Travel Bu-
reau, through recently launched
promotion drive. hopes to bring to
this country many Latin Americans
who ordinarily spend their vaca-
tions in Europe.
Booklet Distributed.
Though many foreign govern
ments publish official travel bro
chures setting forth the scenic and
other attractions of their respective
countries, the United States Gov
ernment, heretofore, has had no
travel promotion literature to dis
tribute through its embassies, lega-
tions and consulates abroad. State
Department representatives in Latin
America receive frequent requests
for literature describing the tour
list attractions of the United States.
To meet, in part, the demand for
United States travel literature in
South and Central American coun-
tries, an illustrated booklet, en-
titled Pictorial North America"
has recently been published by the
United States Travel Bureau, in
collaboration with the Pan Ameri-
can Union and the Moore-McCor-
mack Lines. This booklet contains
pictures of the White House, Capt.
tol, New York City, the World S
Fair. Boulder Dam, Hollywood and
other places and points of interest
in the United States. The United
States Travel Bureau plans to dis
tribute $4,000 copies of Pictorial
North America" through our en-
bassies, legations and consulates in
Latin America.
Soon after July l, the Travel Bu-
reau will have funds available for
the publication of 100000 copies of
brochure, describing the scenic,
cultural and industrial attractions
of the United States. The explana-
tory captions will be in both Spanish
and Portuguese.
May Use Motion Pictures.
If funds permit, the United States
Travel Bureau will later use motion
pictures in its Latin-American
travel promotion drive. Many of
our embassies and legations in
South and Central America are
already equipped with projectors
and other motion picture apparatus.
The Department of Interior has a
large library of motion picture films
covering the national parks and
other scenic attractions of the
United States. Other Government
departments and agencies also have
scenic films. Most of the Govern
ment pictures could be quickly
adapted for distribution in Latin
America by rescoring the text in
the appropriate language, either
Spanish or Portuguese. The De-
partment of Interior has an up-to-
date motion picture studio, with
personnel trained in Hollywood pro-
duction technique.
AS part of its travel promotion
drive, the United States Travel Bu-
reau also has under consideration a
program of radio broadcasts over
short-wave stations to other Ameri-
can republics. 1t is planned to
make these programs descriptive of
the recreational. scenic, industrial
and cultural attractions of the
United States. So far as possible,
the folklore, legends, and music OF
the United States will be used.
Spent S1s4,o00,o00 Last Year.
United States travellers spent
about $96,000,0OO in Latin American
countries last year, according to
estimates of the Department OF
Commerce. In addition, they spent
about $38,000,000 for ocean trans
portation, thus bringing the aggre-
gate outlay for Latin American
travel to about $134, 100000.
According to Commerce Depart
ment estimates. residents of Latin
America visiting the United States
last year spent about S24 900 900