U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai‘i, joined Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., to introduce a bill designed to change U.S. visa policies to make it easier for visitors from Canada, China and other fast-growing outbound markets to visit Hawai‘i and other states.
U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai‘i, joined Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., to introduce a bill designed to change U.S. visa policies to make it easier for visitors from Canada, China and other fast-growing outbound markets to visit Hawai‘i and other states.
“The Pacific region is a vast market for new visitors,” Hirono said in a news release Sunday that projected that passage of the legislation could bring an estimated 280,000 more visitors to Hawai‘i each year.
Hirono’s office said the expected jump in tourism from China alone could yield an estimated $573 million in new revenues for Hawai‘i’s economy.
In 2010, more than 54 million Chinese citizens traveled abroad, but the U.S. welcomed only 800,000 Chinese visitors, of which only 62,000 came to Hawai‘i, Hirono’s office reported.
“Reforming our visa process is a cost-effective, common sense way to make it easier and more inviting for international businesses and tourists to come to Hawai‘i and the U.S.,” she said in the news release. “It’s why this is an idea both Democrats and Republicans are behind.
The bipartisan proposal is called the Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America — or VISIT USA — Act.
It’s the House version of the VISIT USA bill introduced in the Senate by Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Mike Lee, R-Utah. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai‘i, is among its co-sponsors.
Among the bill’s supporters are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Hotel and Lodging Association and National Restaurant Association.
Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, appeared with Hirono at a news conference in Honolulu to express support for the bill. McCartney said as many as 6,000 new jobs could be created in the state as a result of the proposed visa application reforms, according to the news release.
The VISIT USA legislation would allow Chinese visitors to apply for five-year multiple-entry visitor visas. Chinese visitors now can only apply for a one-year multiple-entry visa at a time.
The proposal would allow Canadian citizens to obtain 240-day visas renewable every three years and also offer lower visa fees during off-peak times of the year to encourage more applications when demand is lower.
“Other countries are aggressively pooling their national resources and staking a larger claim in the international tourism industry,” Roy Yamaguchi, a board member of Brand USA, stated in the news release. “Efforts to increase the ability of travelers to come here allows us to achieve great things for the U.S. economy.”
