NEW YORK CITY-Tuesday morning we covered the NYU Hospitality Conference and the opposing economic views of Mort Zuckerman and Jonathan Tisch, who lead Boston Properties and Loews Hotels, respectively. While Zuckerman took a skeptical view of where the economy was headed, Tisch was far more optimistic in his outlook.

But optimistic doesn't mean blind, and Tisch was frank in his assessment of how the global race for tourism dollars is being won by other countries. And while the private sector has made inroads, more can be done . . . both by the industry and federal legislation to put us on an equal footing with other countries, including China. He laid out issues we are addressing or need to address to grab a bigger percentage of the expected 800-million-passenger increase in air travel that he said is expected to come by 2016.

“It's clear that our future depends on us winning the competition that is to come,” Tisch told the packed house at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. “It is important for us to take a far broader view,” of the travel experience. That experience, he said, has to start as early as the trip-planning stage.

He stressed that the industry needs the help of the US government to “deliver a great experience from the earliest part of the trip. He applauded the Obama Administration for slashing the wait time for a visa. In China, that wait has been cut from more than 100 to just five days and in Brazil it's been slashed by 98%.

“Our success in improving the visa process provides a model for action,” stated Tisch. “Now we need to turn this same focused attention to the next barrier visitors to the US face: an unwelcoming Customs process.”

Citing a recent survey from the US Travel Association, Tisch said that more than 40% of US visitors plan on telling friends or colleagues to avoid traveling to the US because of the Customs and entry process, which Tisch called “cumbersome and confusing. He also added that Customs alone is responsible for some $95 billion in lost revenues.

“An investment in 1,000 additional Customs and border protection officials at our gateway airports could help meet a 30-minute goal for clearing international visitors through Customs,” he said. A huge improvement over what he refers to as an un-welcome mat.

The US is also suffering from what he referred to as our aging infrastructure. Tisch cited countries where travelers can be whisked to their CBD destinations from the airport in 20 minutes, and he got laughs when he asked if the audience could envision that at JFK International. “The hard truth is, America's aging infrastructure cannot handle the travelers we already have, much less the millions of new travelers we're trying to attract.”

And while he did praise the private sector for the initiative that resulted in the Brand USA international advertising campaign--our country's first--he did urge his constituents to do more in terms of advertising and trade shows to get the message out that the US welcomes foreign travelers.

In closing, Tisch voiced his support for the immigration bill working its way through the US Senate. “Immigrants come to America to forge a better life for themselves and their families,” he said. “It's a great source of pride for us that many take their first steps up the ladder of opportunity in the hospitality industry.”

He stated that provisions in the bill would address some of challenges he raised, including codifying visa improvements into law and providing enough funding for additional Customs agents to improve the entry process.