Trade group seeks to rebuild tourism to U.S.

President Trump’s statements about immigrants aren’t solely responsible for the drop in international travel to the U.S., but they’re not helping, say members of a new industry coalition dedicated to promoting international tourism to the country.

The coalition, dubbed Visit U.S., is aimed at reversing a drop in international visitors to the U.S. since 2015. The group, which includes travel, retail, hotel and gaming industry leaders, says it hopes to work with the Trump administration to send out a message that visitors are welcome in the U.S.

“Fewer visitors means fewer hotel stays, fewer meals eaten in our restaurants, fewer goods purchased in our retail stores and fewer visits to our national attractions,” said Katherine Lugar, chief executive of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the trade group for U.S. hotels.

Other members of the coalition include the U.S. Travel Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association and the American Gaming Association.

The group attributes the decline in international visitors to a strong U.S. dollar, which makes vacationing in the U.S. more expensive for foreign visitors, plus economic calamities in countries that send tourists to the U.S., such as Brazil.

But Roger Dow, president of the U.S. Travel Association, said of Trump’s harsh state- ments about immigrants: “His rhetoric is not helpful.”

The U.S. is second only to France as the top destination for foreign visitors. But visita- tion data trends suggest Spain may soon overtake the U.S. for the second spot.