With overseas visits still below levels from before the 2001 terror attacks and America's image battered, the travel industry is pinning its hopes on a new promotional effort led by the federal government.

Industry leaders are lobbying for legislation to create a government-led corporation for travel promotion. This would be funded by voluntary business contributions and a 10-dollar fee imposed on visitors from countries qualifying for visa "waivers."

"Other countries are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, the US is spending zero" for visitor promotion, said Geoff Freeman, executive director of the Discover America Partnership, a coalition led by the travel industry with other business partners.

"The idea is to create a nationally coordinated brand for the country."

Some data suggest visits from key markets are still falling, despite sharp declines in the dollar that make US travel a relative bargain. The euro recently hit an all-time high and the pound a 26-year high against the greenback.

According to Britain's Office of National Statistics, visits by Britons to North America decreased one percent to 4.5 million in the 12 months to May 2007, even as travel to other parts of the world rose by nine percent.

"We don't know for sure, but without the weak dollar (the decline in visits) could be even worse," said Freeman.

US government figures cited by the coalition show a 17 percent decline in the number of visitors from outside North America between 2000 and 2005.

More recent data show a mixed picture: Total overseas visits rose 5.8 percent in the first half of 2007 to nearly 6.8 million, but were flat in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department.

Visits from Germany fell 11.7 percent in the April-June period but from France rose 23 percent. The figures show a 6.5 percent fall in British visitors in the past quarter and a 4.5 percent decline from Japan.

Industry leaders say the US needs to counter the perception of being unwelcoming to foreigners, despite tighter security imposed after the September 11 attacks.

This effort could be helped by a marketing and informational campaign, accompanied by improvements in staffing and training for US customs personnel.

"The US, as opposed to every other industrialized country, doesn't invite people to come to the US," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and a member of the coalition.

Rasulo said improvements are needed in the US entry system, which he said "is inefficient," and where "you're treated like a criminal at the border ... all of those things make people feel unwelcome."

Rasulo noted that the decline in travel affects the whole economy. The partnership estimates the loss of at least 93 billion dollars (68 billion euros) in spending and 194,000 jobs in the 2000-2005 period due to declines in overseas visitors.

"It's not just about the travel industry. It's about medical care. It's about universities. It's about the Olympics," he said, suggesting that the US might have a hard time winning the hosting of Olympic games if it failed to improve its image.

Tom Ridge, former secretary of Homeland Security, said the image of the US had been hurt by a few cases where foreign visitors have been poorly treated on arrival, generating bad publicity, especially in Britain.

"There are horrific scenarios," he said. And that was why there is an image of an unwelcoming America, he added.

Of the proposals being considered in Congress, Ridge said, "none would undermine US security."