Hotline Set Up For Foreign Tourists

A national tourist hotline aimed at helping foreign visitors who run into trouble while in the United States moves a step closer to reality this month, and members of the National Traveler Safety Team hope the multilingual help line is in place by the end of the year.

The telephone and emergency assistance companies bidding on the project are expected to be chosen by the end of March.

The toll-free line was proposed last year during the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism as a response to situations in which foreign visitors need police, ambulance, fire, or medical assistance but don’t know how to seek such help.

A number of countries have tourist lines and tourist-assistance programs aimed at assuaging problems. U.S. tourism promoters intend to use the planned hotline as part of a wide campaign to encourage foreign visitors.