USTA Urgently Calls for an Analysis of Air Travel Screening Techniques

Whole Body Security Scans Among Policies in Need of Greater Review

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. December 30, 2009

Dow: "Allocate Undesignated Stimulus Dollars to Enhance Security, Protect Travel Economy"

WASHINGTON, DC, December 29, 2009 - the wake of the attempted terrorism attack aboard a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day and President Obama's call for enhanced screening of airline passengers, the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) today urged policymakers to embrace screening techniques that meet a three-part test: strengthen security, balance travelers' privacy needs and improve traveler facilitation. U.S. Travel highlighted "whole body imaging" (WBI) and increased use of canine security as examples of promising security measures in need of greater analysis.

"Security is job one and the travel industry is committed to working with President Obama and others in government to protect our customers," said Roger Dow, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "We must find new screening techniques that strengthen security, protect privacy and reduce wait times and other hassles for travelers. A 21st Century security system can meet these objectives given the necessary financial resources and investment in research and development."

U.S. Travel noted that WBI has received significant attention with regard to privacy, but significantly less focus has been paid to its security benefits, affect on wait times and any potential of reducing travelers' hassles at security checkpoints.

"Whole body imaging may or may not be a panacea for security and travelers, but one thing that is clear is that this technology has not received the necessary analysis to determine if it can significantly strengthen security and improve travel facilitation," said Dow. "Nearly all of the WBI focus to date has been on privacy. It is past time for a more detailed analysis."

As demonstrated in the years since the September 11, 2001 attacks and during the ongoing recession, a reduction in domestic or international-inbound travel can have devastating economic consequences. The travel industry is estimated to have lost nearly 450,000 American jobs during 2008-2009 and the American economy has lost in excess of $100 billion in traveler spending during the post-9/11 decline in overseas visitation to the United States.

"We call on Congress to allocate undesignated stimulus dollars to the immediate deployment of screening techniques that strengthen security, balance privacy and improve traveler facilitation. Our travel economy is simply too important for America to be anything less than a worldwide leader in research, development and implementation of new security technologies," Dow concluded.

The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $770 billion travel industry. U.S. Travel's mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. For more information, visit www.ustravel.org. Follow us on Twitter @ustravelpr.