US officials are concerned about the state of the country's tourism industry after research revealed that the number of visitors from key areas visiting its shores went down by five per cent last year.
Research from the New Commerce Department found that the number of tourists from the UK, Germany, Japan and France dropped during 2006.
The figures caused particular alarm as nearly half of all foreigners visiting the US are from these countries, USA Today reports.
Some ten million tourists visited the US last year – around 500,000 fewer than the previous year, with numbers still not having returned to pre-9/11 levels.
Rudy Waiss, former president of the French chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents, told the newspaper: "It seems the United States is putting too many obstacles for Europeans to visit the country.
"With the value of the dollar, you should have a great number of people going to spend weekends in New York and even the West Coast."
All
InsureandGo's
travel insurance policies for insured adults include up to three under 18s free.