More than a half dozen South and Central Florida mayors have hopped aboard a national travel industry campaign to persuade the U.S. State Department to speed up visa application interviews abroad for international travelers.
The U.S. Travel Association, a Washington-based trade group, rounded up signatures from 44 U.S. mayors last week including those from five South Florida cities as well as Miami-Dade County.
Industrywide concern over a continued lag in issuing international travel visas to U.S.-bound visitors has grown since the start of this year. For Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency, it appeared to be the lone black mark in what was otherwise a record year for state visitations in 2022. The agency expressed dismay that the numbers of foreign visitors to the state and nation remain below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, even though international travel has shown year-over-year improvements.
