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Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Sub-Committee on Homeland Security, announced during the committee’s hearing yesterday her intention to organize a special meeting of the U.S. Department of State and a group of members from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) to explore and develop more effective ways to ensure that buyers and sellers from abroad are provided with more convenient opportunities to participate in U.S.-based exhibitions.
In her remarks she referred repeatedly to data that was developed last year by the CEIR Research Study, The Economic Impact of International Non-Participation in the Exhibition Industry Due to US Visa Issues conducted by Oxford Economics. Points raised included the exhibition industry’s loss each year of 116,000 international visitors; the $3 billion loss of sales arising from visa problems; and, the likely creation of more than 60,000 new jobs that the restoration of lost sales would bring.
Following testimony delivered to the Sub-Committee by IAEE President Steven Hacker, CAE, FASAE, Landrieu noted the unique and vital importance of the nation’s exhibitions to national economic interests. Both she and Hacker separately said that the goals of making the U.S. more competitive in the global marketplace and enhancing national security are not mutually exclusive but are the key elements of what should be a new national strategy.
Hacker recognized that while IAEE is pleased with recent initiatives announced by the State and Homeland Security departments, they are just new patches on what has become a "worn out and tattered patchwork quilt" of ad hoc fixes. "What we desperately need is an over-arching national strategy that has two goals – restoring our global competitiveness and enhancing our national security," he said. To achieve these goals, IAEE is recommending the creation of a government-private sector commission that includes talent drawn from the Commerce, State and Homeland Security Departments along with seasoned business executives who understand competition and how to build business systems and processes that are effective and sustainable.
During the hearing, the US Department of State indicated it had determined that a beta test of video conferencing for the purpose of visa interviews proved to be insufficiently secure. After the hearing, Hacker noted that the test referred to was conducted briefly in 2006 before the introduction of high-definition television capabilities, and that video conferencing which is included in a recently adopted appropriations bill must be explored more extensively. "The infrastructure and geography of nations like India, Brazil and China will never permit all of the travelers who wish to come to U.S. business events to do so without the introduction of technology tools that are available for use today," noted Hacker. This is likely to arise in talks with the State Department at the urging of Senator Landrieu.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
