Travel should become a national priority, obstacles to visitor growth (entry visas, ed.) should be solved and the United States should become the most visited nation in the world. That’s the plea of Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association at IPW 2024 in Los Angeles. “It should be nothing less than our national goal to be number one in terms of number of visitors, in terms of visitor spending, and in terms of visitor experience,” says Freeman. But our ambitions are constrained by excessively long wait times for visitor visas, often long waits at customs, and an air traffic control system that struggles to meet demand. Achieving growth in travel requires a sustained focus from government and industry to address frictions and improve the process for travelers.” The 55th edition of IPW took place from May 3 to 7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. IPW generates more than 5.5 billion U.S. dollars (the 5.1 billion euros) in economic impact for future travel to the U.S. Freeman pointed to the coming decade of opportunity as the U.S. prepares for the arrival of millions of new travelers at major events across the country, such as the Copa America this summer, the FIFA World Cup matches, the celebration of America’s 250th birthday in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. At the press conference of U.S. Travel’s IPW, Freeman was joined by a panel from the Commission for Seamless & Secure Travel, which aims to make travel to the U.S. easier and keep it safe. The participants took part in a discussion on a more efficient, safer, and modern travel system for the U.S. The committee makes recommendations to modernize the travel experience, increase U.S. competitiveness, and promote growth. “IPW is back,” Freeman declared. He pointed to the presence of around 5,700 participants from almost 70 countries this year. IPW brings together U.S. travel providers with international tour operators and buyers for 100,000 scheduled business appointments over three days. IPW recorded 20 percent more participants this year than in 2023. This, he says, is indicative of the ongoing recovery of travel. However, the total number of inbound visitors in the U.S. at the end of 2023 was only at 84 percent of 2019 levels. So there is still a lot of work to be done to increase arrivals and increase market share. The 56th edition of IPW will be held in Chicago from 14 to 18 June 2025. (Archive photo TravMagazine).
