Senate Approves Fee to Visit United States

We reported on this last week. But the “Travel Promotion Act” was approved by the Senate yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid(NV) praised the job-creation of increased tourism to the U.S., calling it a “win-win-win.”

We’re not sure who is winning. But the idea of charging ten dollars for your Visa Waiver Travel Authorization in order to promote tourism to the United State is, as John Bruton, the EU Ambassador to the United States said, that “only in Alice in Wonderland could a penalty be seen as promoting the activity on which it is imposed.”

The Slovak Foreign Ministry referred to it as a “hidden visa,” and is not in accordance with the “idea of a visa-free regime.”

“The EU member states are now considering the introduction of a wide range of possible anti-measures, while in this phase they will open this issue at all forums with the American partners and, in case that the U.S.A. will insist on the fee introduction, we don’t exclude the same approach on part of the EU vis-a-vis the American citizens travelling to the EU member countries,” said Peter Stano, a representative of the ministry.

Congress seems to think this is a great idea, because no American will be paying for tourism promotion. But, if the EU imposes such a fee as a reciprocal measure, it will sort of negate the benefit to some degree.

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