CRI听力:US Issued Initiatives to Attract more Chinese Tourists

As part of the new pilot project, people who have already gone through the interview process to get their original US travel visa won't have to be interviewed again.

Senior Presidential Advisor Valerie Jarrett says this move should help streamline the application process for travellers from both China and Brazil, on top of helping the US economy.

"Improving visa process in China and Brazil is critical. By 2016, the number of travelers from China is projected to grow by 135 percent. And the number of travelers from Brazil is expected to grow by 247%. In addition, according to the Department of Commerce, Chinese and Brazilian tourists currently spend 6 thousand and 5 thousand respectively each per a trip to the United States."

The US Department of Homeland Security estimates the new rules should free up around 100-thousand interview spaces a year for Chinese travellers who want to head to the United States for the first time.

And as part of the new project, the US government is also planning to set up more visa offices in both China and Brazil.

The executive order is part of a larger push by the Obama administration to try to create new jobs, and is being met with applause from the US tourism sector.

Bob Iger is the President and CEO of Walt Disney.
 
"It's estimated that for every 65 visitors to the United States that one job is created. From Walt Disney's perspective, we have the ability to create many more jobs by simply adding to our visitation with more people from these international markets. This is a great step. I think these are not just words. There are some very tangible parts of this initiative that can have an impact on our business and the economy of the United States on job creation."

The tourism and travel industry makes up a sizeable chunk of the US economy.

Tourism and travel made up 2.7-percent of the United States' GDP in 2010, and employed around 7.5-million people.　

1.2-million of those jobs were directly supported by international travellers.

For CRI, this is Lv Xiaohong, reporting from Washington.