"Travel Promotion Act" Moves Toward Enactment as Bill Garners Bipartisan Majority
Congress Supports Bill to Grow U.S. Economy and Create Thousands of New Jobs
WASHINGTON, DC, September 22, 2008. The Travel Industry Association (TIA) announced today that Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, became the 50th U.S. Senator to co-sponsor S. 1661, the "Travel Promotion Act," which would create a public-private partnership to better explain U.S. security policies and attract millions of additional overseas visitors to the United States. A House companion bill, H.R. 3232, is co-sponsored by 245 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
"Congress understands that travel promotion will boost the economy and create thousands of new jobs," said Roger Dow, President and CEO of TIA. "With Senator Lugar's support, America is one step closer to improving its economy and strengthening its image in the world."
Despite a weak dollar that puts America "on sale," two million fewer overseas travelers visited the United States in 2007 than in 2000. The decline in overseas travel to the United States since 9/11 has cost America 46 million visitors, $140 billion in lost visitor spending and $23 billion in lost tax revenue. If the United States had simply kept pace with global travel trends in 2007, an additional 340,000 jobs would have been created, lowering the nation's total unemployment rate to 4.4 percent.
The "Travel Promotion Act," (S. 1661, H.R. 3232), establishes a public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier international travel destination and communicate U.S. security and entry policies. At no cost to U.S. taxpayers, the bill specifies that that travel promotion be paid for by the private sector and a modest fee on overseas travelers that don't pay $131 for a visa to enter the United States. Nearly every developed nation in the world spends tens of millions of dollars to attract visitors.
Oxford Economics, an international economic consulting firm, estimates that a $100 million travel promotion program would yield $8 billion in new visitor spending and $850 million in new revenues annually.
The bill has been reported to the Senate floor by the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The House companion bill has been reported out of Subcommittee. A markup in the House Committee on Energy in Commerce is expected next week.
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