Customs, visa changes OK’d

Las Vegas took another step toward globalization Friday when Congress approved legislation that would make it easier for foreigners to visit the United States.

The legislation includes $40 million to increase the number of customs officials at airports nationwide, including McCarran International.

It also includes provisions to broaden the nation's visa waiver program, which will make it easier for overseas travelers to visit the United States.

Changes to the visa program could eventually land Las Vegas $120 million in new business annually from South Korea alone, a country whose residents flock to Southern Nevada despite bureaucratic hurdles. The proposals would need signatures from President Bush to become law.

"They are spending lots of money over there," Eun Seok Kim, minister counselor for congressional affairs at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, said of the estimated 112,000 South Koreans who visit Las Vegas annually.

Kim said he wouldn't be surprised to see South Korea move up on the list of countries that deliver the most tourists to Las Vegas. The Asian country is already the only country subject to visa restrictions among the top five sources of overseas Las Vegas tourists.

"I'm sure it will be right there after England and Japan," he said.

Under one of the bills, which the Senate approved Thursday, the top 20 airports in the country would become "model ports of entry," with improved signs, multilingual videos and streamlined entry procedures that make it easier for foreign travelers to enter the country.

International travel to McCarran has increased 75 percent in the past seven years.

Another aspect of the legislation sent to Bush on Friday are changes to the visa waiver program. That program allows residents from countries that meet certain security requirements to visit the United States without needing a visa. It saves foreign tourists hassle by reducing the time and paperwork required to visit.

The program is credited in part with encouraging travel from countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Japan. Allowing more countries to participate should boost visitation from emerging markets in Asia. Although no visa is required, visitors do need to provide biographical information before their trip. The Department of Homeland Security will also track when the foreign visitors leave.

Alan Feldman, spokesman for MGM Mirage, which owns 10 resorts on the Strip, said the change could prompt Las Vegas casinos to expand their overseas marketing

"It absolutely gives companies a chance to invest more," he said. "It makes almost no sense to invest money into a market from which it is very, very hard to travel."

In the long term, it enhances opportunities for Las Vegas to become a primary port of entry for foreigners coming to the United States. Much of the foreign visitation today is from tourists who land first in cities such as New York or Los Angeles before making their way to Las Vegas.

"The fact of the matter is, I would rather see that economic impact happen here in Las Vegas ... and turn Los Angeles into the second city someone visits when they come to the United States," Feldman said. "There is enormous upside potential for Las Vegas coming from global markets."

Despite an overall increase in foreign visitors to Las Vegas in recent years, the number of tourists from overseas still hasn't rebounded to pre-Sept. 11, 2001, levels.

Overseas visitation to the United States as a whole has dropped 17 percent since the terrorist attacks. An increase in travel from Canada and Mexico has offset the overseas losses. But North American tourists don't stay as long or spend as much as people from overseas.

Kim said changes to the visa waiver program alone could boost South Korean visitation to America from about 860,000 annually to 1.6 million.