Inbound travel to this country is fraught with challenges that can make the experience more taxing than it needs to be.
At its annual IPW Travel Industry Conference, which concluded earlier this week, the U.S. Travel Association held a press conference that sought to shed light on these challenges.
Perhaps the fact that garnered the most attention among the assembled press was that visa wait times continue to be a prohibitive hurdle for international travelers.
Jeff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said in a recent review of the visa situation that Colombians wishing to enter the United States now have to make a visa appointment at a U.S. consulate. It was revealed that the company was facing a waiting time of more than 600 days. Meanwhile, individuals coming from Mexico face a staggering wait time of 800 days.
But visa issues were just one of the issues Freeman sought to highlight at the IPW press conference.
Travel to the U.S. is plagued by “customs inefficiencies” and the re-inspection of bags faced by travelers at U.S. airports as they attempt to disembark from their international flight and board a connecting domestic flight. I am also influenced by the issue. Flying in the country is possible, Freeman said.
“On the customs side, too many travelers spend 10, 12 or even 14 hours on a plane waiting more than two hours to get to the United States,” Freeman said.
“When it comes to baggage re-inspection… it's very inconvenient for travelers to have to go through customs to get their baggage and then have it re-inspected at a TSA checkpoint for a connecting flight,” Freeman added. .
Leave your luggage at the baggage claim area. (Photo credit: Aris Suwanmalee/Adobe Stock)
Inefficiencies and solutions
To address the challenges plaguing the country's inbound tourism infrastructure, the U.S. Travel Association recently established an organization it calls the Committee on Seamless and Safe Travel. The commission's mission is to recommend ideas that the U.S. government can adopt to improve the country's competitiveness as a destination.
To accomplish this objective, committee members are currently traveling across the United States to examine operations at various airports to identify opportunities for improvement. They are also meeting with stakeholders at various levels of the industry to discuss potential innovations.
Last month, committee members visited Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to review new technology designed to help travelers clear TSA checkpoints in less than six seconds. Committee members also recently visited Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to meet with Customs and Border Protection officials and review the agency's latest technology and efforts to move travelers through automated screening more quickly. .
In a one-on-one interview with TravelPulse at IPW, Freeman detailed some of the ways he thinks the country can begin to improve its inbound tourism infrastructure.
In particular, Freeman said, a major expansion of so-called “pre-clearance” programs could eliminate the need for international travelers to have their luggage re-inspected upon arrival in the U.S. to board a connecting domestic flight. .
The U.S. pre-entry screening program allows travelers and their baggage to undergo security screening in the country of departure before entering the United States.
“With pre-clearance, you go through customs on the other side,” Freeman explained. “So, when I land in America, [able to
land] at the domestic terminal” and bypass the re-examination process.
Unfortunately, U.S. prescreening is not widely available around the world. This means that the majority of arriving international travelers still have to go through the process of collecting their bags and undergoing re-inspection in order to board a domestic connecting flight in the country.
Mr Freeman said expanding the pre-screening program was a “very important” way to address baggage complaints faced by international arrivals.
Unfortunately, the reality is that in some countries, the U.S. pre-entry screening program is not a viable option or solution to the inefficient arrival process faced by international travelers. Freeman explained that security concerns have prevented widespread adoption of the program.
“To be completely transparent, it's not just the airport side of things. What the Department of Homeland Security is trying to do is… [offer pre-clearance] “If we feel that we have an appropriate security relationship with the country of origin,” Freeman said.
If prior permission for foreign soil does not provide a solution, the airport will need to be reconfigured. this Freeman said the country is another possibility.
The reconfigurations Freeman is talking about include allowing international arrivals to seamlessly and safely transfer from their international arrival flight to their domestic connecting flight within the airport without having to re-check their baggage or go through re-inspection. This includes redesigning the airport to But that option is fraught with potential challenges, including the extensive renovations that would be needed at airports across the country.
“It's a massive undertaking. I'm concerned about its scalability,” Freeman admitted in a discussion with TravelPulse.
Freeman said rebuilding the airport will also take time. And it doesn't provide a comprehensive solution.
There is also the issue of funding airport reconfiguration solutions for airports across the country. Freeman said the money will likely come from a variety of sources.
“I think you’re going to see a combination of government resources, airline resources and airport resources,” he said. “They all recognize the inefficiencies of the status quo. And they all seek solutions to the problems, some with more urgency than others.”
Freeman said he is cautiously optimistic that government leaders are firmly committed to the challenges ahead in terms of taking action and addressing much-needed improvements to the country's inbound travel infrastructure. Ta.
But in his parting comments, Freeman also suggested that travel advisors could play a role in bringing about the necessary improvements. Advisors can do this by reaching out to their representatives in Congress and urging them to support a path forward.
“I don’t think we as an industry have been as vocal as we need to be about the government’s role in making sure we can transport travelers here,” Freeman said. “Travel agents in particular are the grassroots forces of the industry and would greatly appreciate their support, involvement and recognition that they need to be advocates.”
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