Foreign tourism boards urge travel to Boston in wake of marathon bombing

Foreign tourism boards are usually busy competing with one another over visitor spending, but 36 foreign tourism boards recently signed a letter, urging their citizens to visit Boston in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing last month.

The diverse group of tourism boards signing the letter included: Austria, Bavaria Tourism, VisitBritain, Visit China, Croatia, Cypress, CzechTourism, VisitDenmark, Definitely Dubai, VisitEngland, VisitFinland.com, Flanders Tourism, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland Travel, IncredibleIndia, Tourism Ireland, The Israel Ministry of Tourism, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea Tourism Organization, La Martinique, Mexico Tourism Board, Morocco, Norway, Philippines, Visit Portugal, Romania, I Need Spain, Visit Sweden, Switzerland and Wales Cymru.

The letter was recently presented to the City of Boston.

Here's the text of the letter:

Foreign Tourism Boards Stand with the People of Boston

Dear Sir:

We represent over 30 foreign tourism boards from around the world, wiht combined population of over three billion people. The April 15th bombing that occurred at the Boston Marathon, has affected all of us greatly, and the people and countries that we represent.

We would like to express the solidarity and love of our countries to the families who lost their loved ones, to the people that were hurt, and to the people of Boston.

Usually we as foreign tourism boards focus on motivating the American people, including the people of Boston, to visit the countries, regions, and cities that we all represent. But to show our solidarity with your city, we call on the people from our countries to show their support for Boston by visiting your wonderful city.

The international community stands with the people of Boston.

Respectfully,