The United States has a border problem. It is not the problem that allows illegal aliens to stream across our southern border by the tens of thousands, it is right at JFK, Dulles, Miami and other gateways where totally legal, rich, itching-to-spend-money-in-America, respected, educated tourists and businessmen and women are mistreated by our Customs and Border Protection (CBP) system.
Just as TSA has managed to become a barrier to be overcome by the traveling public that generates almost fanatical comments by those who have been groped and prodded, the U.S. border protection system that checks passports and visas and inspects incoming luggage for contraband is despised by foreigners arriving in the U.S. I know French, Swiss, German and Italian travelers who rank high in their travel-and-tourism world who will not attend meetings in the U.S. because they do not want to be treated like a criminal when entering our country. They end up sending lower ranking colleagues to meetings here because they do not want to put up with the hassles of coming to America.
In fact, not one of my friends who traveled from Europe to the U.S. has related a positive experience at our airport gateways. Frankly, they are disgusted. Travelers who took vacations in the Soviet Union back in the days of Brezhnev claim that visiting the walled-off Soviet Union and passing through their cold-war, police-state controls was easier and more pleasant than entering the U.S. today.
A recent survey conducted by the Consensus Research Group for the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) is waking Washington, DC, up to the reality that their border-protection practices are driving tourists away from our country. Just when the country is trying to attract more travelers with their accompanying spending that will help to balance our budget by setting up a public private partnership to encourage foreign tourism, homeland security’s CBP actions are driving tourists away.
A CNN piece noted:
In the survey, 43 percent of the travelers who have visited the U.S. said they would discourage others from making the trip because of the entry process.
The survey, which included responses from 1,200 overseas travelers, also found that more than two out of five potential business travelers won’t come to the U.S. in the next five years for the same reason. About 64 percent of responders said they were frustrated by long lines and wait times.
USAToday covering the same survey explains that among other complaints:
• One in three travelers said the U.S. was falling behind other countries or it was the worst they had ever experienced in terms of getting through U.S. Customs and Border Protection procedures.
• Business travelers, especially, said they were put off by the entry process, with 44 percent saying they will refuse to visit in the next five years.
• One in seven international travelers said they had missed a connection because of delays at Customs. Two-thirds said they would consider the U.S. an attractive destination if the Customs lines and wait times were shorter.
From a study completed by a travel industry coalition of Airlines for America, Airport Councils International, USTA and IATA (recently joined by the Consumer Travel Alliance), the wait time numbers revealed by JFK CBP is damning. Average minimum wait times at the main international terminal, T1, the main international gateway to the U.S., was about two hours! The study showed long lines at other gateways. Even law-abiding U.S. citizens are often faced with more than an hour in line upon returning to the U.S.
In speeches about the effects of sequestration on CBP, Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano has noted that wait times will be going up as overtime personnel are scrapped. This is a shame and an abdication of her duties as Secretary. These problems of long security lines are nothing new. Foreign tourists have been experiencing them for more than a decade. The solutions can be simple. Take a look at rules and procedures in place when entering the European Union.
On my last trip, in mid-March, it took only about 10 minutes for me to pass through passport control in Frankfurt, Germany, then about another 20 minutes to retrieve baggage and I walked through customs using the green, nothing-to-declare line. My entry into Italy back in October was even easier and passing through U.K. customs was a breeze when landing from the U.S.
Why does the U.S. experience have to be so intimidating? And, even more importantly, if other countries can figure out how to handle visitors in a timely manner, what is wrong with the U.S.?
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
