It’s no secret to agents that the travel industry is
consistently on the frontlines of international conflict. With its
tendency to bring people from different cultures face to face, as
well as its reliance on the cooperation of foreign governments and
corporations, for better or worse, the travel industry experiences
the ups and downs of global attitudes like no other business. It’s
because of this role that the recent statements by the Travel
Industry Association of America (TIA) are appropriate and probably
long overdue.
Roger Dow, president and CEO of the TIA, citing recent Pew
survey data stating that the global image of the United States
continues to plummet, has called for a federally funded marketing
campaign to combat the U.S. “image crisis” among international
travelers.
“We need an umbrella campaign that promotes Americans [and]
American values &,” Dow said. “We could divert a little money
and for a paltry sum get the world to say, ‘You know what,
Americans are all right.’”
Fortunately, a negative perception of the U.S. is less a factor
when dealing with travel industry partners and government tourist
boards, which are much more likely to distinguish the finer points
between good business partners and larger global political issues.
Still, it would be good to see other industry organizations, such
as ASTA and the NTA, throw their weight behind the TIA position, as
an improved image of Americans can only help their members as
well.
It is unfortunate that our world image has fallen so far since
the days after Sept. 11 that this has become an issue, but it is
not a situation that we should give up on. A small bit of PR can go
a long way toward helping the travel industry’s bottom line. At the
very least, we have little left to lose by trying.
K.S.
