Communiques Won't Solve U.S. Visa Problem

Steven Hacker -- Tradeshow Week, 8/15/2005

There is a good reason why the Intl. Assn. for Exhibition Management did not join in signing the joint communique issued to Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff by the American Society of Assn. Executives, Professional Convention Management Assn. and Meeting Professionals Intl. ("Is America Really Open for Business?" Aug. 1, 2005)

The short answer is that our sister organizations didn't invite us to join them. Had we been invited we would have been pleased to add IAEM's name to the communique. That said, and not to diminish their joint outreach, what joint communique was ever issued that resulted in any substantive results, other than those occasionally issued by wartime presidents and prime ministers?

Expressions of appreciation are nice, they are polite, they may be appreciated, but they don't result in new statutes or regulations. Quiet, methodical, plodding, work done day by day behind the scenes, however, does often yield results.

Besides, there are other things that have taken up our attention here at IAEM. We have been working side-by-side with officials at the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. State Department since October 2001 to develop tactics intended to streamline and ease the entry of foreign nationals into the United States, and we are very pleased that we are achieving important progress. This week in our newsletter, we reported on the introduction of the Worldwide Business Visa Center supported by the U.S. State Department.

It is a direct result of the same kind of initiative that was launched in January in China. It is not coincidental that IAEM met on several occasions with officials of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to help create what became the China beta test, and that has now resulted in a worldwide initiative that will help ease foreign nationals' entry into the United States for business purposes.

Last week, we published a new and important document called, "Boosting Intl. Attendance at Your Events." We describe it as IAEM's toolbox of effective strategies and tactics. It is the result of our work with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and many show organizer-members who devoted their time to examining their best practices. The 33-page document is chock-full of real-world case studies and solutions that do increase foreign participation in U.S. events.

We are now gathering together a delegation of show organizers to accompany us to China in January for the second China Forum. We will use that opportunity to meet again with officials of the U.S. Embassy and consulates throughout China to help ease the difficulties that many Chinese business travelers encounter when they try to attend U.S. events.

IAEM is planning a new conference called It's All about Visas that will debut at our annual meeting in Atlanta. It will feature experts from within and outside the industry who will continue to probe the challenges of getting foreign nationals into the United States. We plan to replicate that conference at locations throughout the United States throughout 2006.

All this said, the diminishing number of foreign nationals coming to the United States is not just the result of obstacles placed in their way by new U.S. Customs and Immigration policies. The unfortunate reality is that in many parts of the world the United States has fallen out of popular favor. This is reflected increasingly in the financial results being reported by companies like McDonald's, Coca-Cola and many other U.S. brand icons.

Some disturbing data was published in June by the Pew Center for Global Research. Here, in part, is what their research report says:

"Anti-Americanism in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, which surged as a result of the U.S. war in Iraq, shows modest signs of abating. But the United States remains broadly disliked in most countries surveyed, and the opinion of the American people is not as positive as it once was. The magnitude of America's image problem is such that even popular U.S. policies have done little to repair it. President George W. Bush's calls for greater democracy in the Middle East and U.S. aid for tsunami victims in Asia have been well-received in many countries, but only in Indonesia, India and Russia has there been significant improvement in overall opinions of the U.S."

The fact is, many foreign nationals are choosing not to come to the United States, borne out of very personal and strongly held personal convictions. No amount of policy streamlining or increased U.S. Customs and Immigration efficiencies will change this. It is the reason why the U.S. Congress approved the appointment of Karen Hughes as our first deputy secretary of state in charge of the image of the United States.

Exhibitions and events, especially those that serve businesses, are an embedded part of every industrialized nation's economy, and our industry is very resilient. We will rebuild the attendance of foreign nationals at U.S. events through the kind of plodding, quiet and methodical work in which IAEM has been engaged for the last four years. But please don't be looking for a lot of communiques from us.