Customs and Border Protection Launches Nation's First 'Model Port' at Houston Intercontinental

HOUSTON, April 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yearlong efforts to establish products and processes to make international travel into the United States more welcoming has resulted in Houston's airport becoming the nation's first model port of entry. Improved signage, multi-lingual explanatory videos and modernized procedures will ease the process of arriving in America.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security that annually welcomes more than 400 million travelers into the U.S. while assuring national safety, spearheads the model port effort. The concept is a joint initiative between Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"First and foremost, we want the world to know that America remains a warm, welcoming nation," said CBP Commissioner W. Ralph Basham. "CBP has the dual mission of securing America from those who would do us harm while facilitating legitimate travel and trade. Our model ports project is about reaching a hand out to our friends and neighbors around the world."

Processes implemented at George Bush Intercontinental in Houston will be replicated in Washington-Dulles International Airport later this spring and serve as a prototype for international airport operations around the country.

After the terrorist attacks of 2001, world confidence was shaken and international travel dropped. But statistics indicate that international travel has returned to pre-2001 levels. "We can all celebrate the good news that the travel industry has recovered from the devastating setbacks that followed 9/11," Commissioner Basham said.

While security will always be CBP's primary mission -- and is key to regaining travelers' confidence -- the model port project seeks to make the process of entering the U.S. more streamlined, user-friendly and understandable.

A new video narrated in Spanish, French, German and English, guides travelers through the customs and immigration process. A "Welcome to the U.S." brochure and a variety of new bi-lingual directional signs are designed to point the way and lessen confusion.

Another example of the government's commitment to traveler facilitation is the new Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, DHS TRIP. This easy-to-use Web site enables travelers to address watch list misidentification issues and other problems with any of the department's travel-related agencies at http://www.dhs.gov/trip.

Customs and Border Protection also has implemented a systems upgrade whereby "false-positive" matches will no longer result in travelers being referred for additional inspection, once it has been confirmed that they are not the person of interest. Since February of 2005 this upgrade has resulted in avoiding more than 25,000 subsequent inspections, saving time for travelers and CBP officers.

Commissioner Basham thanked the city and airport for partnering on this project and said that Houston Intercontinental, the nation's sixth busiest airport, was selected because of its status as a gateway for foreign travelers and its diverse and vibrant economy. Houston Airport System Aviation Director

Richard Vacar, who also addressed the gathering, was thanked for his support of the project.

Commissioner Basham cited Department of Commerce projections calling for a record number of international travelers to the United States in 2007, breaking the historical record set in 2000. Commerce also reported that 51.1 million international visitors traveled to the United States in 2006, an overall increase of four percent over 2005.

In addition, the World Economic Forum recently released its first-ever Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report for 2007, which ranks the U.S. fifth in the world for overall travel and tourism competitiveness.

For more information about these efforts, please visit http://www.cbp.gov and http://www.dhs.gov. For more information on the Department of Commerce data, please visit http://www.commerce.gov. A Spanish version of this press release is available at http://www.cbp.gov.