US Embassy in
Ethiopia USA
Pre -Post Congress
AGOA
Benefits
. . . \
The National Tour
Association's Tour Operators Annual Convention NTA Says Visa Waiver
Expansion Good News for Travel
Industry (ForImmediateRelease.Net)
LEXINGTON, Ky. &emdash; Last week President Bush
signed legislation that expands the Visa Waiver
Program. The National Tour Association, a strong
supporter of the expansion, welcomes this latest
legislation, noting that it will help the United
States regain lost market share in international
travel and improve the U.S. image
abroad. "As part of
NTA's 2007 advocacy priorities, NTA is committed to
addressing border crossing issues to ensure a
secure, timely and seamless transportation
experience," said NTA Legislative Counsel Jim
Santini. "This is welcome news for NTA tour
operators and other travel companies that stand to
benefit from the new spending that will be
generated by the millions of additional annual
visitors to the United States." The new
legislation will expand the program &emdash; which
currently allows citizens from 27 countries to
visit the United States for up to 90 days without a
visa &emdash; by 12 nations. Countries can qualify
for the program by demonstrating that their
citizens observe visa stay deadlines and maintain a
refusal rate of 10 percent or lower for applicants
seeking U.S. travel visas. Previously, the refusal
rate was set at three percent. The new language
also gives Homeland Security flexibility to approve
a country's application based on its law
enforcement and anti-terror cooperation with
America. The legislation,
which addressed recommendations proposed by the
9/11 Commission, also contained provisions to
improve the welcoming and arrival process at
America's top 20 overseas inbound airports. The
provisions should decrease the time it takes to get
through customs, since more than 200 customs
officers will be hired, and provide better
information in the Federal Inspection Services area
through promotional videos and
brochures. "The new Visa
Waiver provisions will allow more legitimate
travelers to visit the United States visa-free
while enhancing our security," said Santini. "NTA
believes this will stimulate international inbound
tourism to the United States, welcoming friendly
nations that deserve to be incorporated into the
existing Visa Waiver program." The National
Tour Association was established in 1951 as a
unified voice to fight legislation in the newly
formed packaged travel industry. Today, NTA's
government relations activities include monitoring
security issues, as well as state and federal
legislation and regulatory issues affecting the
travel and tourism industry. NTA maintains
full-time representation in Washington, D.C., to
serve as the association's voice on Capitol Hill.
Additionally, NTA empowers its members to be
advocates for the association on the local level,
as well as to provide support for NTA's positions
on national priority issues through its Grassroots
Action Network. For more information on NTA's
government relations activities, please visit
www.NTA.travel or call 800.682.8886. Sara Morton,
Public Relations Manager National Tour Association
546 East Main Street, Lexington, KY 40508 USA P:
859.226.4418 | 800.682.8886 (U.S. and Canada) F:
859.226.4447 | www.NTA.travel NTA You can search NTA
for credited tour operators to partner with on
NTA's Web site NTA Online. We invite you to
use this search by visiting http://www.ntaonline.com/
and clicking on the Public Search, Find a Tour
Operator link at the top of the page. NTA provides
unsurpassed business opportunities, knowledge and
information to its tour operators. These resources
keep NTA members ahead of the competition, making
them the travel professionals to trust in both your
domestic and international business
endeavors. For more
information on the National Tour Association, its
tour operators and their efforts to adapt to the
demands of the industry, contact NTA Headquarters
at 800.682.8886 (U.S. and Canada) or
859.226.4444.
Entoto Street,
P.O.Box 1014
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Phone: 251-1-550666,
Tours
to Africa.
The
National Tour Association is opening its doors to
travel agents, bank travel planners and other
professional travel buyers at its Annual
Convention. As part of its ongoing efforts to bring
more business opportunities to its members, NTA has
invited professional travel buyers to the
2007 Annual Kansas
City, Nov. 2-6
Convention
in. These professionals are invited to take part in
a one-day program connecting them with the
expertise and diverse tour product of NTA tour
operators.
Have you
noticed the trend of travelers gravitating toward
their special interests when they're on vacation?
The National Tour Association's tour operators
have, and it's evident in the results of NTA
research. For example, NTA's latest research shows
that its tour operators are responding to
travelers' changing needs by offering more special
interest tours and packages including hard and soft
adventure, gay and lesbian travel, sports tours,
wine tasting, gardening and agriculture. By
catering to these special interests, among a
growing list of others, NTA tour operators are
providing the packages that today's travelers
demand.
