Michelle Higgins, writing at the “In Transit” blog on the New York Times site says that both IOC voters and U.S. tourism industry associations say that, for too many foreigners, it's just no fun entering the U.S. and that may have been one of the reasons Obama's charm could not sway IOC voters in Copenhagen:
Among the toughest questions posed to the Chicago bid team this week in Copenhagen was one that raised the issue of what kind of welcome foreigners would get from airport officials when they arrived in this country to attend the Games. Syed Shahid Ali, an I.O.C. member from Pakistan, in the question-and-answer session following Chicago’s official presentation, pointed out that entering the United States can be “a rather harrowing experience.””
Once the news came out that Chicago lost its Olympic bid, the U.S. Travel Association didn’t miss an opportunity to point that out, sending out a critical press release within hours.
“It’s clear the United States still has a lot of work to do to restore its place as a premier travel destination,” Roger Dow, U.S. Travel’s president, said in the statement released today. “When IOC members are commenting to our President that foreign visitors find traveling to the United States a ‘pretty harrowing experience,’ we need to take seriously the challenge of reforming our entry process to ensure there is a welcome mat to our friends around the world, even as we ensure a secure system.”
[Read the rest of Higgins' post]
Thanks for posting this, David. I love the US and go there whenever possible, but the security in airports is really trying. I hope they move to an equally thorough but less intrusive system.