LAS VEGAS - DESPITE the weak US dollar, a global boom in travel has not translated into an explosion of foreign tourists to the United States.

Explanations range from post- Sept 11 security headaches and lower airfares elsewhere to poor marketing by the US.

Whatever the cause, travel industry experts say the US is missing an opportunity to make up for the shortfall in domestic tourism caused by high fuel prices.

At Heli USA Airways, one of many operators of aerial tours of the Las Vegas Strip and nearby Grand Canyon, vice-president of marketing and sales John Power said the faltering US economy and competition from other countries are crimping business.

'Right now, there are some other worldwide destinations that are taking some of the marketplace,' said Mr Power.

The UN World Tourism Organisation says the US had 51 million international visitors in 2000, more than 7 per cent of the 682 million such arrivals worldwide.

But as international arrivals worldwide soared to 846 million in 2006, the US saw roughly the same number of visitors as it used to - dropping its share to 6 per cent.

The US share of international tourism dollars has slipped too, though it still drew more money than any other single country in 2006 and more than it did in 2000.

From 16 per cent of the market in 2000, or US$82.4 billion (S$112 billion), the US took in 12 per cent of the US$733 billion worldwide tourism market, or US$86 billion in 2006.

Major destinations such as Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Miami, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington DC and Boston all saw 20 per cent to 34 per cent fewer travellers in 2006 compared with 2000.

Of the top 10 cities, only New York saw more visitors in 2006 than in 2000, with a 9 per cent rise to 6.2 million arrivals, according to the US Commerce Department.

Nearly 26 million people visited the US from overseas in 2000. But that plunged after Sept 11, according to data from the department.

The number bottomed out in 2003 with 18 million overseas visitors, and with 24 million last year, it had still not returned to previous levels. The figures do not include visitors from Canada and Mexico, whose numbers are up substantially from 2000 but who tend to spend less than other international travellers to the US.

Part of the problem is the perception of frosty US attitudes towards foreigners, starting at Customs, said Mr Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association. That and other factors make it difficult to attract more tourists.

The US should decode its complex entry rules and boost staffing at Customs checkpoints, Mr Dow and others said.

US travel operators say local airports are particularly confusing.

Frequent visitor George Somerville of Scotland said international flights are generally cheaper to places other than the US.

'In the last 12 months, destinations my colleagues have travelled to include China twice, Singapore, India and Thailand,' he said.

'Much of that is to do with the price of flights - AirAsia, Emirates and Singapore Airlines are doing great deals from the UK.'

Mr Somerville, 40, called US Customs a 'daunting prospect' that requires fingerprints and retinal scans.

Some in the industry also blame how the US markets itself abroad.

Ms Paula Bohaty, a group travel manager, said the industry would benefit from marketing smaller destinations that foreign travellers are not familiar with and from pitching experiences they may find novel - like working on a farm.

Top destination cities are spending millions to promote themselves abroad and often compete with one another for foreign visitors, meaning less-obvious destinations with smaller marketing budgets have trouble being heard.

The industry is pushing a Bill that would impose a fee on overseas travellers - to be matched by the industry, for about US$200 million in all - to fund marketing to foreign visitors and communication of US visa rules.

Mr Dow said other countries already do the same. 'It is public diplomacy on the cheap.'

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TURN-OFFS

• Complex entry rules and mandatory fingerprinting and retinal scans at Customs checkpoints

• Foreign tourists find American airports confusing

• International flights generally cheaper to other destinations