A worthwhile goal

Improving the U.S. Image Abroad

I applaud any initiative in this directon and can only wish the travel industry the best of luck. Based on past experience with Switzerland I know this is an enormous task. That country which by an large has a very positive image abroad, came under criticism in the past from visitors entering by car for the unfriendly manner they were treated at the border. The toughest group to educate on the necessity of not only a friendly approach but clear information, are the immigration officials. Their entire mindset from initial training on is to be suspicious and alert to anything negative. Most of them do not consider themselves part of the tourism industry but rather the defense establishment. Keep the bad guys out is their mantra, not be welcome to visitors because they are good for the economy.

It is one thing to get message across to people in the industry and maybe even cab drivers but the immigration and security staff are a major challenge.