Concerned about a significant decline in business and leisure travel to the United States and its impact on the country’s deteriorating image abroad, the Discover America Partnership released a comprehensive roadmap for helping the nation restore travel and tourism. Discover America, an initiative the NTA Board of Directors endorsed last September, is an advocacy campaign that is supported by many renowned national business leaders and hundreds of travel industry leaders. Discover America’s three-part plan, “A Blueprint to Discover America,” comes as the United States grapples with a steep, sustained decline in overseas travel and a simultaneous drop in the nation’s image abroad. Overseas travel to America is down 17 percent since 2001, resulting in a loss of $93 billion in economic activity and nearly 200,000 jobs. The blueprint’s three main components include: * Creation of a “21st century visa system” that will improve security and process travelers more quickly * Modernization and securing of the nation’s points of entry * Changing perceptions of America that are keeping travelers away To read the press release about the Discover America plan, click here. To download a PDF including the full 60-page report, “A Blueprint to Discover America,” visit www.poweroftravel.org