President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the streamlining of applications for foreign tourist visas, focused heavily on increasingly affluent Chinese and Brazilian visitors, in an effort to boost US tourism and create jobs. The package of mostly modest reforms were the latest measures rolled out by Obama to show voters he is serious about boosting the still-sluggish labour market and will act on his own whenever possible in the face of election-year gridlock in Congress.
Obama planned to formally unveil the steps to cut through red tape and make it easier for foreign tourists to come to the United States as he visited Disney World in Orlando on Thursday. "Every year, tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America," Obama said in a statement. "And the more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work. We need to help businesses all across the country grow and create jobs, compete and win."
The White House estimated that more than 1 million US jobs could be created in the next decade if the country increased its share of the international travel market. Foreign visitors generated $134 billion in 2010, making it the largest US service export industry, the Commerce Department said.