In January 2009, overseas arrivals to the United States fell nearly 8 percent, according to data released this month by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which also announced recently that the United States welcomed 25.3 million overseas visitors in 2008—a slight increase over 2007, yet 633,000 fewer than it welcomed in 2000, despite the fact that 48 million more international travelers took long-haul trips in 2008 than in 2000.According to the U.S. Travel Association, if U.S. overseas arrivals had kept pace with international long-haul travel trends from 2001 through 2008, the United States would have welcomed in 2008 a total of 58 million more visitors, $182 billion in new spending and $27 billion in new tax revenue—all to the tune of 245,000 American jobs.In order to bridge the gap between actual overseas arrivals and potential overseas arrivals, the U.S. Travel Association has urged Congress and the president to pass travel promotion legislation that would fund tourism marketing initiatives in foreign countries. Similar to last year's Travel Promotion Act—which was passed by the House of Representatives but left floundering in the Senate—such initiatives, it argues, would attract millions of additional overseas visitors every year, resulting in billions of dollars in new visitor spending with which to support the U.S. economy."As any business will tell you, tough economic times demand increased investment in attracting customers," U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow said in a statement. "Congress and the Administration must act now to compete for global travel dollars and reverse the accelerating decline in U.S. visitation. Increasing travel to the United States is the most efficient form of economic stimulus."According to the U.S. Travel Association, the Travel Promotion Act is expected to be reintroduced in the 111th Congress in the coming weeks.