US International Tourism Market Share Is Falling Under Trump (buzzfeed.com) 429
An anonymous reader writes: The United States' slice of the international tourism pie is declining, according to a new report from Foursquare that looks at data from millions of phones worldwide. The US share of international tourism dropped 16% in March 2017 compared with the previous year. And it declined an average of 11% year over year in months spanning October 2016 to March 2017, according to the report. The drop coincides with the final month of the US election, the Trump transition, and the early months of the Trump administration, which notably imposed a travel ban on people from several majority-Muslim countries in January 2017 that was eventually halted in court but is currently under appeal. Declines in tourism market share from people originating in the Middle East were more pronounced than the rest of the world, down 25% this January, along with a smaller decrease from South America, Foursquare found. The data accounts for the percentage of international tourism coming to the US and not the absolute number of tourists, but Foursquare CEO Jeff Glueck told BuzzFeed News that it's unlikely tourist visits to the US increased while share declined. "I don't think you'd see a 16% decline in international market share and absolute numbers being up. I don't think that's compatible," he said. "The volume of tourism doesn't change that fast."
Good (Score:5, Insightful)
There have to be consequences when a country treats their visitors the way the US do.
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
I have circumstantial evidence suggesting Trump is the reason: I would have loved to revisit the US this year but if I have to disclose my social media accounts and phone or social media login details, I will spare you from the several thousand bucks that I would have carried across the pond to you.
As if this shit wasn't in full bloom with Obama at the helm. There just is less pretense now.
Re:Good (Score:4, Informative)
We have now chosen as a family not to go back,and its not just me and my family, its lots of people I know.
Re: (Score:3)
No, you don't. You have one, unverifiable anecdote. I'm not calling you a liar, but all we have is your unsupported claim that you've decided not to visit the US this year strictly because you don't like this country's policy on social media accounts.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yeah..we're really gonna miss those guys....
[rolls eyes]
But frankly, I have no real inclination to leave the US to visit internationally either.
I mean, I used to like to go to mexico, Cabo was one of my favorite places, but with all the drug crime down there, I have no inclination to go anywhere in MX anymore.
I might do the caribbean, and even Cuba if they finally open it up more freely.
But the US is so large and so diver
Can't hang it on Trump (Score:5, Informative)
Trump had, literally, nothing to do with it. Here is a June 28th 2016 article about the searches [nytimes.com], but our racist media gave Obama a pass until Trump got elected. And then, before the President-elect even entered office, there was an avalanche [theverge.com] of articles [mcclatchydc.com] about the "new" procedures [politico.com] — not directly blaming him, but planting the negative thoughts in the gullible heads (like yours and those of your adoring moderators here today). Only some [voanews.com] of the reports mentioned the truth:
So, no, it had nothing to do with Trump. More likely, the reason is the growth of dollar since last December [xe.com] — vacationing in the US simply became more expensive for foreigners, while going abroad became cheaper for Americans.
Re:Good (Score:4, Insightful)
This really isn't a caused by Trump. It's just gone downhill all these years with no hope of it getting better ever again. I don't expect to visit the US ever again.
Re:Good (Score:5, Interesting)
As a Canadian, I had my social media accounts checked only once. It was brutal, 4 TSA guys asked me to login into both of my email accounts and facebook to go over months of texts and emails. Many questions were asked and many personal pictures were viewed. They had snarky comments to add but they did not find anything illegal. They did fixate on why my sister in law visited her family in Pakistan many years ago and if she saw terrorists, saw guns, saw bombs there etc etc. Things that make you go WTF.
This went on for more than 2 hours while I paid for the long distance data plan. I have not before or since been checked this way, but I've been super careful of adding bearded friends on facebook or any jokes I share. Anything I write might be held against me years later as I go to my vacation passing through the USA.
This was during the Obama administration.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
When in the past 16 years weren't you?
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
if you actually look at the graph, it was falling prior to the election at almost the same rate, you know the time frame when we were 98% sure hillary was going to win. so lets not try and put this on trump. i know thats the popular thing to do but seriously. this is a non story
Even when we thought Hillary would win we were still appalled by the fact that Trump was not only nominated, but that he was making it an actual race.
For all his celebrity Trump is terrible marketing for the US.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Is a nation its government?
Re: (Score:2)
Is a nation its government?
What kind of question is that? Without a government, land is just sitting around waiting to be annexed by some nation... which has one
Re:Good (Score:4, Informative)
One that shows you don't know what the fuck a nation is? [wikipedia.org] A nation is its people, not its government.
Re: (Score:2)
One that shows you don't know what the fuck a nation is? [wikipedia.org] A nation is its people, not its government.
Who are led by the government they elected?
Re: (Score:3)
https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Na... [amazon.com]
https://www.amazon.com/America... [amazon.com]
https://www.amazon.com/Our-Pat... [amazon.com]
Re:Good (Score:4, Interesting)
By your logic Germany is not a nation either.
Re: (Score:3)
Every nation gets the government it deserves.
We got Trump.
Re: (Score:2)
So in order to like America, you must like the US government? Do you like the US government?
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Discussing Trump with a Trump supporter is like discussing a Nigerian prince with someone who just started using email and is convinced they're about become a multimillionaire.
It would have been a valid point that the graph doesn't go back far enough to rule out effects from seasonal variations - if you had made that point. But your claim that US tourism was falling at the same rate prior to the election is total BS. Yes, there was a significant drop from September to October. But the month before that it was level. And the month before that it was increasing.
I know you want to believe in your Nigerian prince. But the data does strongly suggest that Trump's policy toward foreign visitors is hurting the US tourism industry.
Re: (Score:2)
"I know you want to believe in your Nigerian prince"
And the Orange Prince also wants to put exploding laptops of businessmen in the cargo hold, apparently explosions there don't matter.
And if they don't explode, the US customs will spy on foreign companies when they enter the US.
I'm sorry, but there are other beautiful countries without madmen at the top.
Re:Good (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Good (Score:4, Informative)
is it worth investigating? of course! but is that alone proof of wrongdoing? not at all. not to mention that "guccifer" may or may not be russian, let alone working with the russian government
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Good (Score:4, Interesting)
Now you can keep saying nothing has been found, but the FBI is finding stuff every day, and is building a report. Donald Trump admitted (to the Russian ambassador at the center of the investigation) in the Oval Office that he fired Comey to end the Russia investigation.
LOL.. Ever heard of a "pull quote" and know what a "sound bite" is?
Look, If Trump *really* fired Comey to stop an investigation into something, it was a really, really stupid blundering attempt to do so and would have been obviously doomed to failure. If you hold Trump in *that* much distain and think he is *really* that stupid and clueless, I don't see how you can believe he would be smart enough to be colluding with the Russians to throw the election, yet manage to not leave a smoking gun at the crime scene for some reporter to find. Trump may be brash, braggart and a rich white guy from New York, but he's obviously NOT that stupid or he'd lost his money a long time ago...
Personally, I'm called to question your objectivity here... But hey, to each their own.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Your argument seems to hinge on Donald Trump being neither stupid nor deranged.
I think you are on shaky footing there, to put it mildly...
It's easy to collude with Russia and get caught. All you have to do is commit treason while not being careful enough to avoid investigation and prosecution.
Colluding with Russia, and not getting caught in the act is considerably harder.
Government experience would be helpful to avoid getting caught, and to avoid highlighting your treason by committing a major blunder. Dona
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You got to dig deep to keep up the pretense... I understand...
Can you at least admit that it just MIGHT be what Trump says all this is? That there was no collusion with the Russians and Firing Comey was intended from the beginning (just like he said during the campaign)? I'm not asking you to agree with all these, but at least accept that there is a possibility that the truth here is exactly the face value of what Trump claims?
All the "evidence" we have right now of any of this amounts to sound bites an
Re: (Score:3)
Can you at least admit that it just MIGHT be what Trump says all this is? That there was no collusion with the Russians and Firing Comey was intended from the beginning (just like he said during the campaign)?
Possible? Sure. Probable? It doesn't seem likely.
How far behind the news are you? Because apparently Trump's tried several times to get folks (including Comey himself) to end the Russia investigation. His attempts are even being described as, potentially, obstruction of justice, and not just by left-leaning Trump critics.
Given such information, your best defense is that Trump might actually be stupid enough to try and cover up a non-existent crime/scandal.
Re: (Score:3)
You can call it "collusion" all you want, but I object to the term "attack". Even if everything said about Russia is true (Guccifer working for them, hacked the DNC and released emails, etc.), in the end Russia did not vote for Trump. The American people did. And I find it hard to throw blame onto other parties as long as the information released was actually true, even if it only aired the dirty laundry of one side. If you don't want your dirty laundry aired, then keep your laundry clean.
Re: (Score:3)
Be prepared for exactly the opposite conclusion.. After 10 months of probing by the FBI and Congress there is no smoking gun in sight. There's been a LOT of looking, and nothing has really shown up yet (and we have TRANSCRIPTS of some of these calls now)! Where this doesn't prove evidence doesn't exist the sad truth is that you cannot prove a negative or require the accused to do so.
So, I'm going to ask you an important question. Do you see a possibility that no crime was committed here? If not, is ther
Re: (Score:3)
It's possible that no crime was committed, and it's definitely possible that there will not be enough evidence to convict. Russia was probably meddling in the election, and there were a lot of contacts with Trump officials and Russians. What makes me more suspicious is the cover-up: given an appearance of impropriety, an attempt to cover it up and impede an investigation suggests there is something to it.
You don't know that there's no smoking gun. The investigation is continuing, and there has been n
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
[...] we were 98% sure hillary was going to win.
At best, Hillary had a 95% chance of winning. It was never 98%.
so lets not try and put this on trump.
Let me guess... let's blame the high dollar for a $10B slump in tourism.
https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10649845&cid=54476199 [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
i really dont have the answer. but based on the info in that graph, its hard to place the blame on trump (or only on trump at minimum)
If it makes you feel better, Obama was in the same situation when he inherited the mess from George W.
Re: (Score:2)
Are you lying, or do you not know how to read graphs? The graph starts to drop in September of 2016. You know, when the election was held.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It is not like he was running around back then saying that he was good friends with Le Pen, Putin, and would have nothing to do with NATO, and would destroy
And he never attacked China, Mexico, Germany, Japan, etc.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/... [huffingtonpost.com]
Princeton Election Consortium made a similar predition
http://election.princeton.edu/... [princeton.edu]
Re: (Score:2)
if you actually look at the graph, it was falling prior to the election at almost the same rate, you know the time frame when we were 98% sure hillary was going to win. so lets not try and put this on trump. i know thats the popular thing to do but seriously. this is a non story
It should be noted there's also seasonal variation, the drop from Sept-Oct and flat-line through November is consistent with Summer ending and school starting.
The subsequent post-November drop doesn't seem to be what you'd expect based on seasonal variation, though we'd need to see a comparison to prior years to really be sure.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
It's not like it started with Trump that the US treats everyone and anyone trying to spend a vacation in that country like a wanted criminal.
I decided long ago that, well, if you don't want my money, other countries are glad to take it.
Re:Good (Score:4, Informative)
the time frame when we were 98% sure hillary was going to win. so lets not try and put this on trump.
That's not great logic. The article itself states that the trend started in the last month of the campaign, during which time the race was tightening. It's entirely possible that people were uneasy about visiting a country where Trump was a serious contender, and his violent and xenophobic followers were being frequently shown on the news.
If you want to pick apart this analysis, there are better things to point to. Let's start by looking just at the graph, which seems to be your inclination. Going by the graph alone, it show enough historical data on that graph to draw any real conclusion. There's a downward trend, but that might be related to the time of year, or just be a random fluctuation. We would need to compare it to data from previous years to determine normal trends at a given time of year. We would need to look at how volatile the market is to determine whether the trend is outside the normal range of fluctuations.
Then there's how the data was collected: "Foursquare’s data comes from approximately 13 million users who opted to share their locations with the company." One question would be, how accurate is that? Further, if the data is based on location data, then even if a drop in tourism began at roughly the same time as Trump's election, that's not enough to indicate a cause. It would be a coincidence of events without any causal link.
On the other hand, it's hard to imagine that Trump's actions wouldn't have a dampening effect on voluntary travel to the US. He campaigned on the promise of getting rid of Mexicans and Muslims, assuming minorities are criminals, conducting trade wars, and putting immediate American economic interests above all else. He advocated torturing and killing innocent people if it might possibly make people feel that it would improve national security, even if it didn't actually improve it. His early actions included trying to revoke people's legal status and deport them to their country of origin (not necessarily the country they were traveling from, which makes this particularly dangerous).
What's more, I would almost expect Trump supporters to welcome the drop in international tourism. It means that there are fewer foreigners, and probably fewer minorities, entering our country. Sure, it's bad for the economy and probably a sign of greater problems, but it's not as though Trump followers are able to think deeply about indirect consequences.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't worry, you can have it just the other way 'round too.
$BADTHING happens
See, Trump is teh evilz.
$GOODTHING happens
That's just a spillover from when Obama was still in office.
It's about time you people learn that it doesn't fucking matter what idiot you put at the helm, they're ALL crooks!
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It's about time you people learn that it doesn't fucking matter what idiot you put at the helm, they're ALL crooks!
And I wish YOU PEOPLE would see shades of grey. Yes, we know, they're "all crooks". But some are much, much worse than others.
Those of us who live in reality understand that sometimes you have to make a choice between two bad things. I'm not just talking about politics here; I'm talking about anything from choice of car mechanic to choice of a child's cancer treatment. Sometimes, you have to make a choice that's crappy. Attempting to make a third secret choice and rationalizing yourself into smugness b
Re: (Score:3)
http://trulyfallacious.com/log... [trulyfallacious.com]
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
I wouldn't say there has to be consequences. However the political redirect of the ruling party, does make the United States seem to be an uninviting place to visit.
I wouldn't want to visit a country, where I could get arrested or just harassed just because of my cultural differences. We should welcome visitors, because someone coming to our country to visit says that we are special enough for that person to be interested in visiting us, and they will be bringing their money to spend. It should be an opportunity to put our best foot forward.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
This is governing? News to me. It's not exactly ruling in the traditional sense, but it hardly rises to the level of governing.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Just as a point of principle, the United States does not have a "ruling" party, we have a governing party.
Just as a point of fact, ... you keep telling yourself that.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
I wouldn't want to visit a country, where I could get arrested or just harassed just because of my cultural differences. We should welcome visitors, because someone coming to our country to visit says that we are special enough for that person to be interested in visiting us, and they will be bringing their money to spend. It should be an opportunity to put our best foot forward.
Well then you shouldn't visit most of Asia, all of the middle east, and a lot of Africa. There are many countries where you can and will be arrested if you disrespect their culture/religion/version-of-history. Not to mention harassment because of looking different. If you visit a country you best behave on their terms.
(not defending the present USA draconian immigration measures, just pointing out "we're" nowhere near the worst offender)
Re: (Score:3)
As a reasonably patriotic US citizen, I find that attitude depressing. I want my country to be good, not just less bad than that of lots of developing countries.
Re: (Score:2)
You are a Republican?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah. It's not just Trump, and it's been going on for longer. I've been visiting the US regularly for work and tourism for at least the past 15 years, have lived there for half a year and had an American girlfriend for a while. Although every state has the right to subject foreign visitors to whatever restrictions and procedure they please, if they don't make me feel welcome it won't help convincing me to come again and spend money. My gripes:
- The ESTA procedure, where we have to fill out some stupid web form in advance. It's not so much bother, but I'm a frequent traveller to many countries and it is easy to forget. Just give me the option to fill it in at the airport and let me run the (negligible) risk of not being admitted once I get there, or at least send me reminder emails between booking my flight and getting approval.
- With the ESTA procedure, the US is the only developed/"western" country I have to pay to get in. I expect that kind of nonsense from Turkey or Vietnam, not the US...
- Since living in Israel (a staunch US ally) for a semester and visiting tourist sites in nearby Jordan (with whom the US has friendly relations) I am frequently picked out of the line for extra questioning, often adding 30-60 minutes to my time to get through immigration. I can understand it the first time, but after having determined that I'm bona fide, just put a frigging note in my case file and leave me alone next time. Also, for me it is mosly annoying and sometimes amusing, but if I were non-white or had an arabic name I'm sure it would go from bad to worse pretty quickly.
There must be a much smarter way to reduce risk of incoming visitors without annoying legimitate travelers, but it seems that the people in charge just don't care / don't see the real economic effects of current policy.
Re: (Score:2)
I agree. People who hate us enough to resent it when we take safeguards, be it against foreign gangs like M13 via crackdown on illegal immigration, or against foreign terrorists via the attempted travel ban, can go fuck themselves. Or go to an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, or a Catholic Mass in Mindanao, or a scenic tour of Raqqa or Sirte, or hitchhiking across Yemen!!!
Honestly, I don't give a fuck!
Re: Good (Score:2)
I think Trump voters would agree.
So, everybody is happy.
Re: (Score:2)
A long time ago, 20 years or so, I used to go on vacation to the US; visit the national parks, see the sights in the cities, the usual tourist things. It is a beautiful country, and I found the vast majority of people to be friendly and welcoming. I stopped going there by choice when immigration started treating myself and my family as if we were criminals. Now I only travel there on business, if I really have to and not if I can possibly avoid it. There are many countries out there which are equally beauti
Re: (Score:3)
There have to be consequences when a country treats their visitors the way the US do.
You mean by arresting assholes that break our laws and shooting dumbfucks who intentionally try to kill people?
If those types of people avoiding this country is a consequence, we could use more of it. Fuck them.
And yet last week I read of a US school boy being put in Juvi because he burped in class repeatedly.
The USA has an incredibly punitive justice system, it has the highest prison population (per 100,000) in the world, and has done for generations.
You would think if this actually worked, the US would have lower crime stats than other 1st world countries, it doesn't, they are MUCH higher
You would think that repeat offending would be low, its not, its amongst the highest in the 1st world , over 80% within 5
high dollar (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Not true. For most currencies (with some exceptions), the dollar value has been mostly flat since early 2016, and the majority of the dollar rate increase happened before then.
For some currencies, like Indian rupees and Mexican pesos, the value has gone down after Trump took office, which should have boosted tourism.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, when you cause as much political turmoil (Score:2)
as he does, it's going to have knock-on effects that go beyond the political sphere.
And those companies and people directly affected by this turmoil better speak up about it. The more voices in the political arena, the better our democracy.
Re: (Score:2)
The more voices in the political arena, the better our democracy.
I would agree with you, but somehow I get the feeling that you would be one of the people who a year ago now was bemoaning about the loud 'deplorables'.
Re: Well, when you cause as much political turmoil (Score:2)
Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, democracy isn't supposed to be tyranny of the majority.
Trump and high USD (Score:5, Interesting)
As a Canadian who vacations at least 2 to 3 times a year in the US, I can confirm that we will be curtailing our travels to not only some of the new Trumpisms we simply don't want to deal with (e.g. threat of being heavily annoyed at the border) but the extremely unattractive US Dollar exchange.
Seriously though, Florida and border states (we live next to NY and VT) will feel it the most. We have seen it in the past, and some places will get desperate enough to sell stuff at par.
On a different note, Americans, please come to Canada and spend your money here, we don't really hate you, we love your tourist dollars. Buy stuff.
thanks
Re: (Score:2)
but the extremely unattractive US Dollar exchange.
I think you just hit on another reason for tourism to be down in the US - a strong dollar. Looks like the Canadian Dollar has been falling vs. the US Dollar for about 4 years now.
Nobody wants to be treated like a criminal (Score:5, Insightful)
If another country started to demand people's social media passwords, full access to phones, etc. as a possible condition to enter, I certainly wouldn't want to go there. Who wants to be treated like a criminal when they're on vacation trying to relax and have a good time?
People take their privacy seriously. The word has gotten around that the US is poking more and more into people's data when they visit. There's plenty of other beautiful places to visit in the world, so obviously tourism to the US will go down.
Treat visitors as guests and not suspiciously, damnit.
Re:Nobody wants to be treated like a criminal (Score:5, Insightful)
The last few years, it has become more arduous to try to visit USA, and it's gotten progressively worse under both GWB and Obama, and there's little hope it will get better under Trump.
For the 38 countries on the visa waiver program, you now have to get a new passport with a chip, then apply electronically for an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), pay for it through a credit card, and answer mandatory questions that you previously didn't have to answer, like your employer, name of your parents, city of birth, and the name of a U.S. contact (which you may not even have if you're a pure tourist).
And if you've been a tourist to some countries that the US doesn't like, you get denied. Even if you have absolutely no affiliation to those countries and only like to travel the world.
And that's before you get to the airport and is subjected to the rather unfriendly border checks.
I tell my European friends to think twice before visiting. And no, they can't use me as their U.S. contact, because I don't want to be added to the database for 15 years and get goonies at my door if someone with a similar name as them ever does something bad.
Re: Nobody wants to be treated like a criminal (Score:2)
Other countries do.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I think a lot of this has been greatly exaggerated. Having travelled a lot over the past 6 months, I've yet to have a US boarder agent ask for passwords or my phone. I also have not seen it happen to anyone else.
Does your last name end in Abad or Bashir or Mohamed or Rabbani or Nasir or Alif or Saadeh, etc... ETC ETC ETC...
Is the color of your skin dark?
Do you speak with an accent that pisses off an airport security checker?
If no, then surprise, you are not who America is looking to ban.
At least a few people like cavity searches... (Score:2, Funny)
Maybe our tourism boards can start targeting the fetish scene.
Let's look at the real cause here. . . (Score:2)
. . . . the blue-gloved idiots at the Theater Security A-holes. . .
Avoiding USA (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Tell me about it. I've never felt less welcome than standing under the sign at customs in O'Hare that said "Welcome to the United States of America" FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF.
The USA is great again. They have managed to outdo the British at something that the British are renowned for and very good at: making people queue.
Don't forget the exchange rate! (Score:2)
Buttsfeed (Score:2)
Not a surprise, due to border security! (Score:4, Insightful)
I think the main problem is if you look middle-eastern and the border agents are having a particularly bad day then you might get denied entry for no apparent reason at all. This has happened to several Canadians and apparently without even an explanation. This has caused entire conferences and school trips to be cancelled and or moved to Canada because on a class field trip, no teacher wants to have to deal with a situation where a student is left behind. Heck there was an Iranian Student who was invited to speak to a US trade show on refrigeration because of something new he had invented who got denied entry. Can you imagine how disappointing it would be to lose your lead speaker at a Conference because of such issues. This plus poor currency exchange, apparently gun violence issues and possibility issues at the border are scaring people away.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What does tourism, or Trump have to do with tech?
The free exchange of ideas? A lot of immigrants built America over the centuries.
Re: (Score:2)
Immigration in the US has always waxed and waned based on the sentiment of voters and the strength of the economy. Yes, the US was built on immigrants but it is also built on the rule of law. There has always been different opinions on immigration and how much. Immigration policy has always changed. Yet, no matter how it changes we still are a very immigrant friendly nation despite rhetoric from the media.
Right now, with a weak economy, stories of illegal immigration taking advantage of badly written laws,
Re: (Score:2)
They mentioned something about cellphones in the summary. That the 'research' was based in something about cellphones.
Which renders the assertion even more tenuous.
Also, why should I care wether tourists come to the US or not? I'd just as soon they come or go, but it's not a concern of mine.
'Tourist' is kind of a derogatory label in the circles I travel in. Back in the era of clubbing and punk rawk, tourists were to be despised. As somebody who doesn't travel a lot, these people who flit in and out and
Re:Tourism dollars (Score:4, Informative)
It was not created by Trump and the Kushner family isn't using it any way that's not available to other businesses to attract foreign investors. Most other countries (like Canada) have similar programs to attract high net worth immigrants.
Re: (Score:2)
The difference is that Trump and Kushner are specifically invoking the President's name to sell these Cadillac visas. It was so egregious that they later apologized and promised to stop using Trump's name.
Re: (Score:2)
They were specifically NOT invoking the President's name
Re: (Score:3)
You're right.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/0... [cnn.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Do you really believe half the spew you post here?
Your article is about the EB-5 visa program, which has been around since 1990 [wikipedia.org]. It has nothing to do with Trump or his family. And if a family member operating a business under the program is a Bad Thing, then certainly even more so is a family member operating a business that recently got terminated from the program for abuse, as was the one operated by Hillary's brother [law360.com].
And the very article you posted explicitly alludes to the fact that Trump may not let
Re: (Score:2)
And this is the first time a president's family sought to profit directly from that program
I'll give you better credit for reading comprehension than you may deserve, and conclude you're just flat ignoring what I pointed out about Anthony Rodham because it's just too inconvenient to your meme. Party on.
Re: (Score:2)
Was Hillary president when her brother was selling visas? Was Bill?
Better check that article again.
I'll stand by my statement:
Causation can be demonstrated (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)