Big business is cutting back on convention travel these days, afraid of being branded as lavish spenders in a down economy. And that’s having a real impact on cities like San Francisco, where conventions and business meetings have a huge impact on our economy. That’s the message a delegation of the city’s civic leaders will deliver to Congress today, specifically asking the Northern California congressional delegation to help tone down the criticism of such business meetings. The San Francisco officials are concerned that businesses that otherwise would send employees to meetings and spend appropriate sums on food and entertainment will increasingly cancel meetings out of fear they will be singled out on Capitol Hill and by the public as overindulgent. “They don’t want to be on the front page of the newspaper or on the 11 o’clock news, seen as frivolously spending money even though it is for legitimate purposes,” said Joe McInerney, the president and chief executive officer of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, based in Washington. The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce-led delegation, consisting of some 50 participants, is in Washington to ask members to keep in mind the economic contribution of travel and tourism while they negotiate proposed restrictions on recipients of federal emergency funds. They do not want legitimate business travel chilled because of extravagant spending by others… “We do not want to support irresponsible extravagance, but we also do not want to discourage business from holding conventions and meetings so they can spend appropriately on entertainment in San Francisco,” said Steve Falk, the chamber president. Among those suffering the consequences of a falloff in business are service employees, he said. “While we understand the need for transparency, we want to make sure that legislation (covering emergency fund recipients) does not have the unintended consequences of impacting negatively on the hospitality workforce,” said Mariann Costello, vice president of Scoma’s restaurant in San Francisco, who is among the chamber delegation.

Driven by record high prices and a suburban thirst for new outdoor activities, tens of thousands of ’08ers are taking to historically rich streams and hills all across the West in search of nuggets, flecks and — more often than not — specks of gold. “Anywhere gold has been found in the past,” said Corey Rudolph, the field operations director for the Gold Prospectors Association of America. “That’s where they’re going again.”

Perhaps nowhere is the rush more spirited than in California, home of the Sierra’s famed Mother Lode, where the discovery of gold in 1848 caused a national migration. Like their forebears, many of today’s prospectors have little more than a pan, a shovel and a dream.

Unlike the original forty-niners, though, some of today’s caravans involve minivans, wetsuits and cellphones. And while many current prospectors say they hold out hopes of big scores, their clubs also act as social networks, where members exchange stories of the joys of sluicing and the unexplainable, often unattainable, thrill of shouting “Eureka!” at the sight of a nugget.

Two U.S. Congressmen have introduced legislation aimed at improving America’s image abroad by promoting international tourism to the United States. The bill would establish a competitive $50 million grant to boost international business and leisure travel to America from five target countries. As VOA’s Cindy Saine reports from Washington, the program will also seek to give foreign tourists a friendlier welcome at U.S. airports and other entry points.

At a news conference on Capitol Hill, Congressman Sam Farr, a Democrat representing California’s scenic central coast, summed up how fewer foreign tourists are coming to America. “International travelers aren’t coming to America and figures show it,” said Sam Farr. “The U.S. has experienced a 17- percent decline in overseas visitors since September 11, 2001.”

Congressman Farr says he believes Americans are among the friendliest, most helpful and most accepting people in the world. But he thinks the current “fortress America” image comes from a combination of factors. “Kids have access to Ipods and media, they’ve just seen America as a very violent country, they’re afraid to come here,” he said. “Frequent travelers find that when they come now they get hassled and it’s uncomfortable for them, they are distinguished people.”

The co-sponsor of the tourism bill, Representative Jon Porter, says the U.S. should be secure and welcoming at the same time. “The problem is that right now there is this perception that we’re not as friendly as we really are,” said Jon Porter. “And because of our emphasis on security, homeland security, I think that the pendulum has swung too far, and that is how we are treating our visitors.”