AMERICAN Department of Commerce has issued figures that show 3.3m inbound visitors to the US (excluding Canada and Mexico) for October last, an increase of 6% over October 2004. Arrivals were also up 8% for the first ten months of 2005 compared to 2004. Regular visitors have also noticed a significant improvement in the courtesy shown by customs and immigration people at the major gateways, more typical American than hitherto. Whether staffing has increased or not is unknown but the procedures seem to have also speeded up, both good signs for even more traffic in 2006. The UK with 3.6m to October, still leads as the major truly international market for US tourism, closely followed by Japan, with the rest of Europe (and the world) far behind. New York is the most popular gateway, followed by Miami and then Los Angeles.
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