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US "Worst" in Welcoming Visitors
WASHINGTON — Rude immigration officials and long delays in processing visas have turned the United States into the world's most unfriendly country for international travelers, a new global survey has showed, amid a controversy over the kicking off of six imams from a US Airways flight.
"The US entry process has created a climate of fear and frustration that is turning away foreign business and leisure travelers from visiting the US and damaging America's image abroad," the Discover America Partnership said in a press release.
The global survey of more than2 ,000 travelers worldwide showed that the US was ranked "the worst" in terms of visas and immigration procedures.
It found that two-thirds of them said they feared being detained on arriving in the US for a simple mistake in their paperwork or for saying the wrong thing to an immigration official.
"Travelers to the US are more afraid of US government officials than the threat of terrorism or crime," said the11 -page study.
The business-backed group Discover America Partnership was launched in September to promote travel to the US and improve the country's image abroad.
Wake Up
The Discover America Partnership urged the authorities to heed the outcome of the global survey.
"This study should be a wake-up call for the US government," Geoff Freeman, Executive Director of the Discover America Partnership, told Agence France Presse (AFP).
"Visiting the United States and interacting with the American people can have a powerful, positive effect on how non-US residents see our country.
"Unfortunately, perceptions of a 'rude' and 'arrogant' entry process are turning away travelers and harming America's image," Freeman added.
US Commerce Department figures recently showed that visits by Saudi tourists, for example, sharply fell to 18, 573in2004 , from72 , 891in1999 .
Tourist dollars, consequently, dropped as Saudi visitors spend three times more per person than any other group of US tourists with $9, 368per trip.
Ever since the9 / 11attacks, the US has been demanding that more of its law enforcement agencies have access to personal details about travelers headed to US airports.
The US and Europe have clinched on October 6a deal on sharing detailed data about airline passengers traveling to the Unites Sates.
More
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1163656960680&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
The global survey of more than2 ,000 travelers worldwide showed that the US was ranked "the worst" in terms of visas and immigration procedures.
It found that two-thirds of them said they feared being detained on arriving in the US for a simple mistake in their paperwork or for saying the wrong thing to an immigration official.
"Travelers to the US are more afraid of US government officials than the threat of terrorism or crime," said the11 -page study.
The business-backed group Discover America Partnership was launched in September to promote travel to the US and improve the country's image abroad.
Wake Up
The Discover America Partnership urged the authorities to heed the outcome of the global survey.
"This study should be a wake-up call for the US government," Geoff Freeman, Executive Director of the Discover America Partnership, told Agence France Presse (AFP).
"Visiting the United States and interacting with the American people can have a powerful, positive effect on how non-US residents see our country.
"Unfortunately, perceptions of a 'rude' and 'arrogant' entry process are turning away travelers and harming America's image," Freeman added.
US Commerce Department figures recently showed that visits by Saudi tourists, for example, sharply fell to 18, 573in2004 , from72 , 891in1999 .
Tourist dollars, consequently, dropped as Saudi visitors spend three times more per person than any other group of US tourists with $9, 368per trip.
Ever since the9 / 11attacks, the US has been demanding that more of its law enforcement agencies have access to personal details about travelers headed to US airports.
The US and Europe have clinched on October 6a deal on sharing detailed data about airline passengers traveling to the Unites Sates.
More
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1163656960680&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
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IMC Network
The clerics, who had been in Minnesota for a national imams conference, were guilty of nothing more than "flying while Muslim," according to a national Muslim advocacy group.
The alert was raised after the men performed their normal evening prayers in the airport terminal before boarding Flight 300.
More
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/21/passengers.removed/index.html