WAR ON TOURISM

American tourism organzations estimate that the U.S. has lost approximately $94 billion and 194,000 jobs thanks to a downturn in tourism due to the difficulties many face in entering the country since 2001. A recent poll of international travellers found that 70 percent of travellers fear U.S. border officials more than they fear terrorists or criminals, and 65 percent worried that they would be detained for some minor error in filling out their forms. The U.S. was also voted the world’s most unfriendly destination for foreign travellers due to the hassles and intimidation most tourists face as they try to enter the country. (New Zealand Herald)