Travel industry officials on Tuesday blasted the U.S. government for several new measures aimed at improving security and said the tough policies will only hurt the country’s already ailing tourism sector. The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) launched a bid on Tuesday to urge the government to delay implementation of new security measures they say will “significantly impede” international travel that contributes about $88 billion a year to the nation’s economy. The measures include a directive to U.S. embassies and consulates to conduct personal interviews of nearly every applicant for a U.S. visa; a program launched by the end of the year to collect biometric identifiers like fingerprints and photographs from foreigners when they enter the country; and a deadline to require visitors from 27 mostly European nations to have machine readable passports by Oct. 1. Full Story