● From our sister site, TheSportsExaminer.com ●
A report released Wednesday from the U.S. Travel Association, a Washington, D.C.-based umbrella group representing the airline, hotel, tourism and related groups, warned that “our outdated air travel system will strain under the pressure” without immediate reforms.
This is a lobbying effort by the travel industry to get the attention of the Trump Administration by posing challenges for major events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2026 celebrations of the 250th anniversary of founding of the U.S., and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
USTA President Geoff Freeman sounded the alarm for the travel industry:
“America is staring at a historic opportunity – the question is whether we will seize the moment or fall maddeningly short.
“The next several years will bring unprecedented travel demand that our systems are not prepared to handle. Washington has a small window to fix major travel pain points and unlock a $100 billion economic opportunity – but it will require a level of urgency that has been missing in recent years.”
The 88-page report, from the USTA’s Commission on Seamless and Secure Travel, has four main priorities:
● A Call for Government-Wide Leadership and Coordination
● Transforming Aviation Security
● Modernizing Airport Customs and Borders
● Strengthening Visitor Visa Policy
The introduction points to the economic benefits of travel:
“America is no longer the top destination for global travel. International visitation to the U.S. peaked in 2018 under President Trump but has failed to reach those levels since. The U.S. now ranks behind Spain and France in the global competition for visitors. China is on a path to catch or surpass us over the next decade. Our competitors are investing billions to leapfrog the U.S. and win a bigger share of the $11.1 trillion in economic benefits from the global travel market.
“It’s time for a new strategy — a strategy to secure America’s global travel leadership and establish the U.S. as the world’s top destination. Just regaining our lost market share, which declined from 12.8% to 9.1% since 2015, would generate 127 million additional visitors over the next decade, resulting in $478 billion in additional spending with U.S. businesses, 140,000 new American jobs and generate $55 billion in tax revenue.”
The primary asks are for:
● “[T]he Trump Administration should establish an interagency task force, chaired by a senior White House official, to bring sustained leadership and focus across the federal government to take advantage of global events coming our way over the next four years.”
● “Deliver on President Trump’s promise to efficiently and securely process visas for the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” with more consular staff for visa processing, a National Vetting Service, and increase the number of “visa waiver” countries.
● Create a world-leading airport screening process, with a sure-to-be-popular goal to:
“Deploy state-of-the-art screening technology that strengthens security AND reduces wait times by allowing all travelers to carry water bottles and larger liquids, leave all electronics in their bags and keep their shoes, jackets and belts on.”
● Create secure and safe borders for travelers, with more customs staff, trusted traveler waive-throughs and protection against immigration overstays.
One major event – just the 2026 FIFA World Cup – is mentioned in any detail, and only once in the report, under visitor visas processing:
“Large global events, conventions, meetings and tours taking place in the U.S. can spike demand for B-1 [business]/B-2 [leisure] visas or increase requests for expedited appointments and adjudication. The mega-decade of global events hosted in the U.S. will increase demand for B-1/B-2 visas and other NIV [non-immigrant visa] categories.
“For example, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to attract more than six million visitors to the U.S. According to FIFA, eight of the top 15 countries that have traveled to attend previous World Cups are non-VWP [Visa Waiver Program] countries that will need visitor visas to attend in the U.S. The increases in applications for major global events are predictable if consular posts have the right information from partners and can appropriately respond with increased consular staffing or expanded hours of operation. But the State Department currently takes an ad hoc approach to adjusting NIV services for large global events hosted in the U.S.”
The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles are never mentioned in any detail. The report states its recommendation on events thus:
“To prepare for major sports and global events hosted in the U.S., Congress should
enact legislation authorizing the State Department and [Dept. of Homeland Security] to extend B-1/B-2 visa validity for vetted, lawful visa holders.
“The State Department and DHS should be authorized to extend B-1/B-2 visa validity by up to two years for lawful visa holders who have never been refused a visa, have previously visited the U.S., left the country on time, have no immigration or criminal violations and no flags for national security reasons. This would reduce NIV interview backlogs and provide additional capacity to adjudicate first-time visitor visa applicants.”
There are dozens of recommendations on infrastructure, technical upgrades and policy changes, many requiring Congressional action, which will not simply sail through. At the core, the report insists:
“Only the White House can generate the urgency and focus needed to galvanize change across the federal government and build support in Congress for legislative action.”
The Trump Administration will certainly agree with that statement. But as far as major events are concerned, the nominated point of contact, Monica Crowley, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. She was nominated “to serve as Ambassador, Assistant Secretary of State, and Chief of Protocol of the United States of America.”
The Trump transition team announcement noted, ”Monica will be the Administration Representative for major U.S. hosted events, including America’s 250th Birthday in 2026, the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.”
No confirmation hearing date for Crowley, who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs during the first Trump Administration, has yet been scheduled.
Observed: This is a well-written, sharply-documented lobbying tool which aims at upgrading travel to the U.S., an important economic activity.
It uses the 2026 FIFA World Cup and other events for some scare-mongering, mentioning a wholly-unsupported figure of six million coming to the U.S. for the 2026 World Cup. In 2022, the Qatari government was expecting to issue 1.7 million of its Hayya Card entry document for its hosting of the FIFA World Cup, for a 64-match tournament.
The U.S. will host 78 games out of 104 total matches in 2026, with the remaining 26 played in Canada and Mexico.
No specific discussion of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games is included at all, and the events are really window-dressing for emphasis on revamping visa entry procedures into the U.S., which are considered inefficient from countries not part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program and need updating. But it’s one of many priorities out there.
~ Rich Perelman
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