16 years
I don´t think the visa procedures have such a huge impact. I´t also pretty difficult to get visa for European countries (say, for people from Mexico or India). In addition to that, there is still no such thing as a "visa for Europe" - it´s all very confusing with Schengen countries and stuff like this.
I´d say the most important reason is America´s image problem. When you travel overseas, you want to visit a country you like. I have mentioned that in another thread. Many Europeans still think America is an unsafe place, Americans are dumb and ignorant and governed by a vile gang of Cheney cronies.
In addition to that, America does absolitely nothing to promote tourism. Even Countries like Uzbekistan run ads on CNN, showing off their silk road wonders. I haven´t seen anything like that about the USA.
You should target the Europeans, Japanese, Koreans. (Brazil and India won´t make a difference - too few people there can afford to travel.) You should not promote your country with Disney Land. We have amusement parks here, too. We visit them on Sunday daytrips with the kids, but wouldn´t travel around the globe to go to a Disney park. What we don´t have are stunning cities like New York and above all great scenery. E.g. Patagonia really made my jaw drop. You can drive for hours without seing other cars. You can hike in real wilderness. You should bring across that Americans are (besides dumb, fat and ignorant) the friendliest and most uncomplicated bunch on earth. Because they are.
America could be a very popular destination. There´s everything from great beaches to snow-capped mountain ranges. Flights to America are cheap, car rental is cheap, gas is cheap, food is cheap. There is a lot of potential.
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