America’s Travel Leaders Hail Global Entry Expansion

WASHINGTON - U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on the new reciprocal arrangement with Germany for the two nations’ trusted traveler programs—U.S. Global Entry and German EasyPass:

“Trusted traveler programs are key not just for boosting travel and therefore economic activity, but also for their contributions to increasing security. These effective and innovative programs have proven time and again that there is no zero-sum choice between security and passenger convenience.
"Pre-approved, low-risk German travelers can now enjoy expedited customs clearance, opening America's doors wider to German travelers and the dollars they spend here while at the same time focusing screening resources on unknown and potentially riskier travelers. In 2013, 1.9 million German visitors arrived in the U.S. and spent $6.8 billion, and this new policy is a guarantee those numbers will improve.
"The Department of Homeland Security and its sub-agencies are to be commended yet again for the steady and deliberate pace at which they have expanded programs such as Global Entry and TSA PreCheck. The American travel community looks forward to working with the agency on additional forward-thinking approaches to safely and securely improving the U.S. travel experience."