Is the New $10 Tourist Tax on Foreign Visitors Good for the U.S. Travel Industry?

[EnLinea Media]

The new $10 US tax on foreign visitors from countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program was signed into law on March 4 by President Obama to help fund a Corporation for Travel Promotion. This non-profit organization will use the funds to promote the U.S. as a destination to foreign tourists.

What is your opinion on this tax? Will it help bring more tourists to our shores, or will it further alienate foreign tourists already upset by U.S. entry requirements and procedures?

Here's some good background from CNN.com.

Your thoughts by March 26th are sincerely appreciated!

[Tony Humphrey]

The Corporation for US Travel Promotion should be funded by the travel industry and/or the beneficiaries of tourism spend.......not their customers. Who needs a national tourism promotion agency when most states already do a fine job? Just another budding bureaucracy....and how much does it cost to process and distribute $10 per visitor....how much is left for real promotion?.....Might i suggest other ways to 'fine' inbound tourists such as....$20 per second bag....$25 recycling fee....$15 eco green tax.....$10 per child.....Travel is one of the most beneficial income streams for many countries, so why tax travellers before they've even entered the country? Once in-country....no worries with indirect consumer taxes....lodging, gas, sales tax on spending.....but working for this new corp could be a really 'fine' job eh?

[Mary Jo Manzanares]

I have less problem with the concept of the $10 tourism tax than I do with the practical implementation of the administration and the spending that will be done with the money. While I'd love to remain optimistic, leaving on my rose-colored glasses, that it will be well spent to foster meaningful travel initiatives, I remain unconvinced. Here's hoping I'm proved wrong.

When I visit other countries, I accept their various taxes and fees, by whatever they may be called, and know that they must be paid as a travel expense. I wouldn't refuse to visit a country over $10 any more than I'd refuse to visit a state that has a higher hotel tax than my own.

[Jose R. Garrigo]

In principle I am not opposed to the $10 tax if the revenues are used to promote tourism to the U.S. with media campaigns in the most important countries where our tourists come. In many cities, "bed" taxes are added to hotel bills and used to promote tourism to that city. Likewise, we pay all kind of taxes and fees when we visit other countries. Tourists or business persons traveling to the U.S. can afford an extra $10 expense per person/per trip, which is a very reasonable amount compared to what U.S. citizens are charged when visiting other countries (such as Russia, Chile, Brazil, Turkey, among others). I do not mind paying a reasonable tourist tax to another country if the place interests me. I don't believe tourists coming here would object to the $10, a very reasonable amount.

[Robert Haru Fisher]

Yes, it's good for us as we need a tourism board, estimates saying it would greatly increase the nuimber of visitors and bring in more money and employ more people here. $10 is about what it costs to buy a gallon (4 liters roughly) of gas in places like the Netherlands, so the price shouldn't put anybody off coming here. And the board might spend some of the money it gets to teach and encourage politeness on the part of our Homeland Security agents at Customs and Immigration, as well.

[Harold D Partain, CTC, CCTP]

Most of you are apparently not as "experienced" as I am. (I was going to say as "old" as I am!) There once was an official United States Tourism Office... can't remember the exact name. They were charged with promoting travel to the USA. Several offices where located around the world and the function they performed created a good solid flow of guests to our shores. After several decades of "isolationist proponents" and "fear mongers" we now have a country many international visitors want to visit. The USA needs to attract this business. International travelers need to come and see us, experience or beautiful country. The economical benefits potentially are astounding. Not to mention that travellers make for good ambassadors of peace throughout the planet. And we can certainly use this. I don't mind paying the same type of taxes when I travel and I don't think our guests will mind either.

[Kat Morgenstern]

Actually, I think it is a ridiculous proposition, not a question of whether people can afford it or not. The tourist board should be properly funded by the federal government, because a well managed national advertizing agency (the tourism board) will hopefully help to generate additional national income through taxes paid by the tourist industry. Every State has its own tourist board and funds it directly - why can't the government do the same for the whole country? Or perhaps all the individual States should pay a certain amount of money into a general US tourist board fund to support the venture.
Extra charges added to hotel rooms ($1 per night) in order to raise money to improve infrastructure or local transportation or to help fund some other local attraction such as a museum or new sports arena, I can understand and support. But to ask tourists to fund the country's advertising campaign I think is a bit outrageous.

BTW, the fees you are referring to e.g. that are levied when visiting places like Chile are in fact reciprocal visa charges, meaning, Chileans have to pay the same amount when they want to visit the US.

Jose R. Garrigo said:

In principle I am not opposed to the $10 tax if the revenues are used to promote tourism to the U.S. with media campaigns in the most important countries where our tourists come. In many cities, "bed" taxes are added to hotel bills and used to promote tourism to that city. Likewise, we pay all kind of taxes and fees when we visit other countries. Tourists or business persons traveling to the U.S. can afford an extra $10 expense per person/per trip, which is a very reasonable amount compared to what U.S. citizens are charged when visiting other countries (such as Russia, Chile, Brazil, Turkey, among others). I do not mind paying a reasonable tourist tax to another country if the place interests me. I don't believe tourists coming here would object to the $10, a very reasonable amount.

[Max Pesling]

I agree: $10 is nothing. I agree: many other countries charge all sorts of tourist taxes. And I agree: a national tourism office could help restore our national brand and bring back the tourists that we've scared off since 9/11 with absurd policies that have not made us safer.

However. It's not about the $10. Anybody who can fly here can pay that. It's about perception and image. Sadly, too many foreigners I know have given up on coming to the US because of the rude treatment they receive at Customs, where on a bad day, they are treated as terrorists until proven otherwise, and on a good day, as a nuisance not worthy of common courtesy. I remember so many European friends who would speak about the US with a twinkle in their eye. That twinkle's not there any more.

How are these people going to react to an ill-conceived tax on the privilege of coming to our shores? Should we not be welcoming them back with open arms? Should we not figure we'll make the $10 and more on what they'll spend here? Can't we find another way to finance this national tourism office, without penalizing the people we need to come in the first place? Isn't that like charging somebody $10 for coming into your store, where they're going to spend money? How many people would come in? Who came up with this brilliant idea??

If we're ever going to recover our moral stature in the world, if we're going to make young people in other countries dream about some day visiting the US, we have to start acting more welcoming. And a good place to start is to scrap that $10 tourist tax.

[WAVE Journey]

If you can't afford the $10 then it's probably best to stay home. But, that's probably not going to deter most travellers to the US - there are plenty of other things that will put people off other than paying a measly $10 tourist fee. Numero uno in my mind would be the frontline people that greet foreigners entering the country - you know, those wonderful people from TSA, immigration and customs. Don't we all love to be treated like criminals, interrogated and threatened? Yes, of course we do. That's what vacations are made of! It will probably cost more than $10 per foreigner to implement the system, so don't worry about the tourists picking up all the costs - the tax payers will be stuck with the rest of the bill. SUCKERS!!!

[James Martin]

Making people pay directly for the privilege of being advertised at is quite idiotic in this day and age. I'm amazed at the brilliant job we're doing of keeping people from visiting our country.

[Allan Lynch]

Enough with the add-on fees!

In addition to the $10 US fee, this morning I read about the British Government's refusal to back down on their charges. And then I saw where Jamaica is adding an $8 visitors' fee. All of these charges are stuck on the traveller by people who don't have to pay them. Politicians live off the public tit and think nothing of sticking everyone else with these charges because they have all their expenses paid by the public. So of course they don't think it's a big deal. But it is.

My readers will book hundreds, if not thousands, of people into a destination for a conference, convention or product launch or some other business function. Now, the charges the client pays are tax deductible, but the budget they give the planner to arrange this doesn't increase. So, if a company is bringing in a group of 400 that's $4000 taken from their budget before they land. That means $4,000 isn't spent at the destination. After the event the client deducts the $4,000 expense from their taxes. So the local supplier loses out. The local government loses taxes on that local purchase. And then the country loses out because that $4,000 is taken back in a tax deduction.

This is why politicians aren't great business people.

[Charlie Leocha]

I wrote a post about Washington's twisted tourism logic. http://snipr.com/v2z54.

Our country’s approach to encouraging tourism.
1. Charge all visa-waiver-country visitors a entrance tax to enter the U.S.A.
2. Force visitors to fill out an intrusive entry form
3. Treat every valued visitor like a criminal

Detalis about in the story about the tax and the questions asked are startling.

[Betty Austin-Ware]

Why waste time on something already signed? Surely $10 is insignificant in light of EVERYTHING else.
Get real.