Tourist promotion bill heads to Senate

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A House bill promoting tourism is headed for the U.S. Senate and would, if enacted, require many foreign tourists to pay a $10 fee to enter the country.

The Travel Promotion Act would require a $10 fee from anyone entering the country from most of Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand and Brunei, USA Today reported Monday.

The fee would be required once every two years no matter how many trips to the United States the visitor takes. It applies only to visitors from countries that do not require 90 day entry visas.

The funds raised will be used to create a non-profit company that will be mandated to find matching funds in the private sector for the first $100 million.

Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of public affairs at the U.S. Travel Association said, "there remain significant concerns out there about traveling to the U.S."

Oxford Economics, a research firm, said marketing could attract 1.6 million more travelers a year. On average, tourists spend $4,500 in each trip to the United States, the U.S. Travel Association said.

The U.S. Commerce Department said 51.4 million foreigners will visit the country in 2009, down from 58 million in 2008.