Skift Take
Tourism's importance to the growth of the U.S. economy can not be underestimated and it deserves greater consideration by politicians at every level -- especially the stubborn ones.
The United States federal government has been significantly late to recognize and enact ways to encourage and facilitate more international travel to the U.S. It allowed visa processes to remain lengthy and unorganized abroad, and left marketing to state, regional, and city tourism boards.
It's recently taken several steps to improve America's attractiveness as a tourist destination by expediting visa procedures in emerging economies and launching Brand USA and marketing campaigns overseas. But it can still do better.
A number of travel and tourism initiatives were recently added to an immigration reform bill that passed through the Senate in June. The bill is now stuck in the U.S. House of Representatives
