WELCOME!
Steve Miller: “The
people in the Greeter
Corps for foreign visitors could also act as something of a concierge, [answering
questions, perhaps even helping out with their cell phones to make a dinner
reservation or two]. My beloved city, Philadelphia,
does what is in my judgment a very good job courting tourists, both foreign and
domestic.”
F Yes!
They could answer basic questions, attempt to make entertaining,
welcoming conversation (a multilingual corps would be best), explain how the
local phone dialing works (in New York, you
need to dial 1-212-345-6789 to make a local call;
but in Miami,
you drop the 1, it’s just 305-345-6789), how the cabs
and public transport from the airport work – all that.
And it occurred
to me that, in addition to hot chocolate and lemonade, wouldn’t Coke or Pepsi
want to sponsor part of this effort? And Starbucks? And perhaps Holiday Inn? Hey, welcome to America.
Chip Ellis: “I
think the euro at US$1.43 is probably a more
welcoming incentive to visit the US than tea and lemonade.”
F And yet, right now tourism is down
even as our tourism “product” sports a “40% off!” sticker. As my friend Arthur Frommer
noted
recently (he, of EUROPE ON $5 A DAY fame, where now you can barely get a coffee in Europe for $5), “Since 2000,
tourism to the United States from abroad has declined by 10%” – even as tourism
to Australia and France (for example) are up 20%. Think of it: the price of our product has
been slashed 40%, in foreign currency terms, yet they are attracting more customers even as we are attracting
fewer.
Hertz and Avis, Marriott
and Disney – they should all chip in for the Greeter Corps. (Shouldn’t every kid in the customs line be
given a free pair of Mouse Ears?)
If we could get
the number of visitors up 20%, like France, instead of down 10%, the
swing would add more than $30 billion in tourist revenues. Surely that’s worth our spending $1 billion a
year to do. (Most of the cost would not
be the volunteer greeters, but rather expanding the ranks of the customs agents
in order to shorten the wait time in line.)
Beyond the $30
billion, there’s the message this would send (you can be sure the initiative
would make news around the world): “We’re
back. We like you and want you to like
us. We really do.”
One way to keep
the message alive beyond the initial burst of publicity: the Las Vegas Tourist
Board could hand foreign visitors million-dollar lottery tickets upon arrival .
. . and draw monthly to see which foreign visitor had won.
(Or maybe
different casinos would do this in conjunction with different airlines. American Airlines might advertise: “Las
Vegas not on your itinerary this trip? No worries, Mate. Fly American to America this summer and we’ll give you a $1 million lottery
ticket, compliments of the MGM Grand – and free first class airfare to come
back and spend it if you win.”)
Too
tacky? Maybe. But I’ll bet news of the drawing would make
the front page the winner’s hometown paper.
It’s worth trying
to think of ways to keep the message out there – that we are a friendly, welcoming
people, who “are back” after eight terrible years – because the more people who come here to vacation,
to study, and to do business, the more allies around the world we will have for
the long run.
MORE SUCH THOUGHTS
Bob Smouse: “Having
just returned from New
Zealand, we were tremendously helped by the I-Sites (information sites) there. The same thing is all over Europe. These are offices which help visitors find
housing, restaurants, tours, etc. for modest or no fees. The employees speak several languages to help
the majority of tourists from different lands.
The USA
should sponsor such offices in every primary city, which would greatly improve
the reputation of this country as friendly and helpful, and would probably
significantly increase tourism, thereby helping our balance of payments.”
Kathi
Derevan: “I get angry every time I land at LAX and see the luggage carts
corralled, waiting for (I thinks it’s $2 now) AMERICAN
money. I can’t think of a foreign
airport that demands a traveler have ready cash in a currency other than their
own, just to be able to get their bags to the curb! ‘Welcome to American, now pay up!’ ”
FINALLY, AS PROMISED – SOMETHING NOT BORING
Jeff Bauer: “Why bother trying to figure out the subprime mortgage mess when these two fellows present it in such a
candid and entertaining way?”
FThanks, Jeff.