Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Study: Better tourist visa laws could boost U.S. economy

McCarran

File photo

Travelers pick up their luggage at the McCarran International Airport baggage claim area of Terminal 1 on Nov. 28, 2010.

Better tourist visa laws would boost the country’s revenue by at least $7.6 billion and create 50,000 jobs within five years, according to a report released Monday by the Partnership for a New American Economy.

The partnership, a coalition of business groups and mayors advocating for immigration reform, says that when a typical country joins the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, the U.S. sees more tourists from that country in the immediate years that follow. Over the course of its first five years in the program, the number of tourists arriving from a participating country rises by 16 percent.

The study looked at data from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Travel & Tourism Industries.

Researchers determined that if just six countries — Brazil, Hong Kong, Turkey, Israel, South Africa and Poland — were to join the federal program, more than 600,000 more travelers from those countries would visit the U.S. the next year, leading to the boost in revenue and jobs.

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