British visitor numbers to the US has not recovered following September 11. The security checks at customs allegedly put people off visiting the US, some were worried they could be detained if they made a mistake at a US airport. Also Bush’s foreign policy did not help tourism. But now that’s all changed, and Visit USA expects British visitors in 2009 to overtake 2000, when a record 4.7 million people visited the US.
In a recent report by ABTA, 13% of Brits are more likely to visit the States now Barack Obama has been elected. This figure is rising to 21% in the 18-34 age group.
The Obama factor could also increase tourism to Hawaii, where Obama neighborhood excursions have already started where people can go and see the apartment where Barack lived with his late grandmother, the Punahou School which he attended up until high school and even the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor where he worked. You can read all about Barack Obama’s Hawaii on Hawaii’s Official Tourism Site. Kogelo the village where Obama’s father was born in Kenya is also expecting to see a boost in tourism.
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