CEO of American Tours Int'l told the mayors Friday that "China is coming", and if the mayors want to fill their city coffers and increase prosperity - they'll tap into the "new tourism" now emerging on the international travel market horizon.

Representing the tourism industry, Hentschel addressed the Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports Committee chaired by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. Suggesting to the mayors how they could increase their city revenues, Hentschel commented: "The opportunities now are strong for international tourism and packaging is the best way to attract these tourists by working closely together in specific regions enabling smaller cities to have an opportunity to tap into this burgeoning market." The tour operator added that her own ATI has experienced a 40% increase since last year with the "largest increase being the more popular trips to smaller destinations."

Hentschel stated that she recently opened an ATI office in Beijing and has been working with Chinese business leaders and other cooperative Chinese travel companies in providing inbound travel to US cities for the combined 50 million members of the Automobile Association of America (AAA) and the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), fulfilling ATI's agreement with both auto clubs to render travel services as their preferred provider.

Hentschel recently returned from Washington DC where she is working closely with the US Department of Commerce on a number of fronts including an effort to secure Approved Destination Status (ADS) for the United States in cooperation with the China National Tourism Administration. She stated that Chairman Shao from the China National Tourism Administration recently announced that an "ADS light" program (a compromise between the two nations) between China and the US would be implemented soon. "This is wonderful news since it is a known fact that Chinese tourists spend more money now than any other international visitor," said Hentschel, "and it is good for our overall economy to encourage their visits."

Hentschel told the mayors that ATI is doing road shows in China with the US Department of Commerce to promote US destinations and ATI products. As a result of Hentschel's recent meetings with China's Vice Minister of Commerce Madam Xiuhong Ma, the ATI tour chief revealed, China's Minister of Commerce has invited ATI to assist with trade missions of US-inbound Chinese business groups and to bring American business executives to China to meet their Chinese counterparts.

Concluding her remarks, Hentschel told her audience that it was important "not to succumb to reducing marketing dollars or raising taxes on tourists because if we do, it will backfire." She added that "tourists vote with their pocketbooks and have a lot of destinations to choose from."

ATI annually serves more than one-million visitors from 70 countries. Founded in 1977 by Hentschel and her partner Michael Fitzpatrick, the company generates $3 billion into the US economy every year. In addition to its Los Angeles headquarters, ATI has branch offices in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Florida, Maui, Honolulu and Beijing, China.