Disney seeks to add sparkle to arriving in U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With an eye on boosting tourism to the United States, Disney is waving its magic wand and trying to put some sparkle into the often grim business of arriving as a foreigner in the United States.

The Walt Disney Co offered up its vast resources and an award-winning creative team to create "Portraits of America" -- a 7-minute film and hundreds of still pictures aimed at welcoming foreign visitors to the United States.

The film, which is set to dramatic music and includes long sweeping shots of well-known U.S. landmarks, is made up mostly of images of Americans smiling at the camera. The only dialogue is when a few people say "Welcome!"

It will be shown in federal inspection areas of U.S. airports where visitors go through immigration and also at U.S. consulates and embassies overseas. The still portraits will be used in posters and banners welcoming visitors.

The project is part of a U.S. government effort to boost the number of foreign visitors coming to the country. The number of overseas travelers dropped sharply after the September 11 attacks amid tighter entry and security requirements.

According to the Travel Industry of America, the number of travelers to the United States -- not including Canadians and Mexicans -- has dropped by 17 percent since 2000.

"Since one of the main causes of the 17 percent decline in overseas travel to the U.S. is the fear of the U.S. entry process, delivering a welcoming message upon travelers' arrival is long overdue," said Jonathan Tisch, chairman of the Travel Business Roundtable and chairman of Loews Hotels.

"It will help change negative perceptions and lead to increased visitation to the U.S., which translates into millions of American jobs and billions of dollars for our nation's economy," he said.

Surveys have shown that the United States gets low marks for travel friendliness. One poll from last year showed that many foreigners were anxious about the visa entry process, making the United States less attractive than other countries.

Analysts and industry experts say that many would-be visitors are put off by the visa process, long waits and perceptions of poor treatment by gruff immigration officials.

Portraits of America is part of a plan by the Departments of Homeland Security and State to try to make the United States more welcoming. Disney, which has a vested interest in a strong tourist market, donated the film and pictures to the government.

Federico Tio, a Cuban-American who came to the United States as a refugee in 1965, produced the film. He took a crew on a 14,000-mile (22,400-km) road trip zig-zagging across the country to find the faces for the movie.

Tio said they met about 500 people who were included in the film, which he said aimed to show "extraordinary aspects of seemingly ordinary people."

But in the end, the one thing that may do the most to lure tourists to the United States has nothing to do with Disney or government efforts to improve its image -- the weakening dollar could bring in more people.