U.S. President Barack Obama is urging Congress and the country to back his new initiative to boost tourism, which he says will create jobs.

Obama unveiled his plan at a visit to Walt Disney World in Florida and said he wants to make it easier for visitors to come and spend money in America.

The president is proposing to speed up immigration screening at airports for frequent travelers, process visas quicker for countries with growing middle classes such as China and Brazil, and expand the number of countries where visitors qualify for pre-clearance by the Homeland Security Department.

He also ordered the elimination of tourist visas altogether for visitors from Taiwan as part of a plan to boost the number of foreign tourists and the US tourism industry.

The president’s steps aimed at increasing the number of foreign travellers have been sought for several years by the nation’s tourism and business sectors. They’ve argued that tight US travel restrictions are costing the nation foreign tourist dollars and the industry jobs.

Concerns about terrorism and illegal immigration led to the tight travel policies. Foreign visitor numbers have been flat since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The United States issued 7.6 million visas in 2001, compared with 6.5 million in 2010.

Restoring tourism to 2001 levels could create 1.3 million jobs and add $US860 billion in economic activity by 2020, tourist and business groups say