"Airport security queues put Britons off US trips"

Saturday, December 9, 2006

Airport security queues put Britons off US trips
By Michael Horsnell
United Kingdom - The Times of London


The number of British visitors to the US is dipping because “Fortress
America” is putting people off. Despite the spending power of the pound
against the dollar and the lure of bargains at Macy’s and Bloomingdales,
laborious security procedures and long queues at American airports are
making would-be tourists think twice.
 
The latest tourist figures published by the Office for National Statistics
show that visits fell by 8 per cent to 3.88 million in the first ten months
of this year. A total of 480,000 visits were made in October, against
506,000 in October 2005.  
 
British visitors to Florida, where they pump $1 billion (£500 million) a
year into the local economy, have slipped by 1.3 per cent after rising 12.5
per cent two years ago. 

Sean Tipton, of the Association of British Travel Agents, said: “It takes
longer to get through immigration than other countries because they are
strict. You get a brief interview about the purpose of your visit and you
get your fingerprints scanned. So it’s a pain, a bit of an inconvenience. 

“There’s also been an issue, hopefully improving, about the surliness of
immigration officials. They don’t tend to have the silkiest of public
relations skills.” 

He said that a fall in visitor numbers was inevitable after a record count
of more than 4.6 million two years ago.

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