U.S. adds 7 countries to Visa Waiver Program

— -- Amid a downturn in global tourism, a new U.S. travel rule is triggering optimism in the industry for more inbound visitors from several countries.

The federal government will expand its Visa Waiver Program Monday to include South Korea and six Eastern European countries — Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic. It paves the way for the citizens of these countries to enter the USA for up to three months without obtaining a visa.

They join 27 developed countries, including the U.K., France and Japan, that have been granted the privilege. U.S. tourism officials have been vigorously lobbying for expansion in recent years to include other countries as a means to generate more visitors and ease concerns that the USA hasn't been as welcoming following 9/11.

In 2007, about 29 million travelers from overseas — excluding Mexico and Canada — visited the USA, up 10% from 2006, according to the Travel Industry Association. But given the global economic crisis, the number of overseas visitors to the USA is expected to drop 3% in 2009 to 25.5 million from an estimated 26.3 million this year, the TIA says.

Without the program, the rate of decline would have been steeper, says Geoff Freeman, a public affairs executive for TIA. "The Visa Waiver Program is the most critical program for international tourism to the U.S.," he says. "It's valuable on all sides of travel — from business travel to tourism and student travel."

Its proponents say the process of obtaining U.S. tourist visas for foreigners in their home countries can be burdensome and discourages many would-be visitors.

Since 9/11, all foreigners are required to undergo personal interviews. Relieving the burden would spur greater tourism spending in the USA at a time when hotels and airlines are seeing a sudden and dramatic slowdown, Freeman says.

Interest is particularly high in South Korea, where the program has been garnering front-page headlines. In 2007, 806,000 South Koreans visited the USA, ranking seventh-highest among foreign countries.