US ready to tax travellers
August 10, 2010 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under News
HAWAII, 8 August 2010 – The Department of Homeland Security announced last Friday that it will begin collecting fees on travellers from Visa Waiver countries beginning 8 September 2010.
According to yesterday’s ETurboNew news bulletin, travellers will be charged a US$14 fee when applying for an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA).
A portion of the fee gained from tourists will be ploughed back into the Corporation for Travel Promotion, the US version of a tourism bureau established under the 2009 Travel Promotion Act.
“This is an important milestone in the implementation of the Travel Promotion Act,” commerce secretary Gary Locke said. “Creating a tourism promotion programme to encourage international visitors to vacation in America will help spur economic growth and create more jobs.”
His enthusiasm will not be shared by travel industry associations that are fighting for a reduction in taxes targeting tourists. In this particular case, they will argue that foreigners are directly funding the US tourism promotion.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association, which came out strongly against travel tax legislation in Europe, will likely challenge this latest twist in travel taxes although it is also keen to recruit the Corporation for Travel Promotions as a government member.
Travel and tourism earns an estimated US $120 billion in revenue for the country and supports more than 1 million American jobs.
Overseas visitors spend an average of $4,000 per person per trip in the United States.
Oxford Economics estimates the travel promotion programme under the Travel Promotion Act will generate US$4 billion in new visitor spending and 40,000 new jobs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the programme will reduce the federal budget deficit by $425 million in the next 10 years.
President Obama signed the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (TPA) into law earlier this year, putting into place a new public – private partnership between the US government and the nation’s travel and tourism industry.
