President Barack Obama today signed the Travel Promotion Act into law, creating the public-private Corporation for Travel Promotion tasked with marketing America as a tourism destination around the globe. The United States was the only major tourism destination country without a national office to support its tourism brand.

Combining the accountability and prestige of the government with the expertise and nimbleness of the private sector, it will develop a multi-channel marketing and communications program to attract more international visitors and explain changing travel security policies.

The U.S. Department of Commerce will oversee the Corporation. With input from the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security, it will nominate an 11-member board comprised of representatives from various segments of the travel community. Once the board is in place, an executive director will be hired to run the Corporation.

Legislation to establish the Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP) passed the U.S. Senate last week by a strong bipartisan vote of 78 to 18. According to an independent analysis by Oxford Economics, the program could attract to the United States 1.6 million additional overseas visitors and generate more than $4 billion annually in consumer spending. Last year, there were 2.4 million fewer overseas visitors to the United States than in 2000, according to Oxford Economics.

"By signing the Travel Promotion Act, President Obama has acted to support the power of travel to serve as an economic stimulant, job generator, and diplomatic tool," says Roger Dow, president & CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "This program will create tens of thousands of American jobs and help reverse negative perceptions about travel to the United States."

The Travel Promotion Act was championed in the Senate by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Harry Reid (D-NV), John Ensign (R-NV), and Daniel Inouye (D-HI), and in the House by Reps. William Delahunt (D-MA), Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Sam Farr (D-CA). It will create a public-private partnership in order to market the United States as a destination to overseas travelers, of which there were 2.4 million fewer in 2009 than in 2000, according to Oxford Economics.

Funded by a $10 fee on foreign travelers who do not pay $131 for a visa to enter the United States, the program is expected to create 40,000 jobs in its first year. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates it will reduce the federal deficit by $425 million over 10 years.

"This legislation will create new jobs and lead to a growth in the tourism industry at a time our country needs it the most," Dorgan said earlier this week, before the Senate vote. "Additionally, when we are deeply concerned with the country's growing deficit, it makes sense to pass this bill, which will not only foster job creation, but also reduce the deficit." The CBO predicts the additional visitors will generate $321 million in tax revenues each year.


The Lost Decade
Since 2000, the decline in overseas travel to the United States—and the lack of a nationally coordinated travel promotion campaign to reverse the trend—has cost America 440,000 jobs and more than $500 billion in total travel-related spending, finds a new report by the U.S. Travel Association.

Released this week and produced in association with Oxford Economics, the report describes a "lost decade" of missed opportunities, according to U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow.

According to the report, titled "The Lost Decade: The High Costs of America's Failure to Compete for International Travel," the United States welcomed 2.4 million fewer overseas visitors in 2009 than in 2000, which contrasts with the decade-long growth in international travel worldwide. The country's failure to "simply keep pace with" that growth, the report concluded, has cost its economy:


• 68.3 million lost visitors, each of whom spends on average over $4,000
• $509 billion in lost spending, including $295 billion in downstream spending at restaurants, retailers, etc.
• 441,000 lost jobs nationwide
• $32 billion in lost tax revenue at the federal, state and local levels
• $270 billion in lost trade surplus

A Domestic Travel Promotion Act Introduced
Hoping to build on the success of the Travel Promotion Act, Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) last week introduced a new bill that's designed to stimulate domestic travel among U.S. citizens.

The bill, the Travel Regional Investment Partnership Act, or TRIP Act, proposes $10 million in federal matching funds—in the form of competitive grants ranging from $100,000 to $1 million each—every year for five years to U.S. destinations for their marketing efforts.

Developed by more than 40 travel industry organizations at the Economic Summit on Travel and Tourism in December 2008, it's intended to complement the Travel Promotion Act—which promotes international travel—by investing in domestic tourism.

"We know how important the travel and tourism industry is to our economy," Rep. Farr, co-chair of the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, said in a statement. "It supports more than 8 million jobs and accounts for four times the rate of GDP than the automotive industry. But in 2009 alone, we saw a decrease of $130 billion in the industry. This bill is a serious job-builder, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get it passed." This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy