U.S. Senate Passes Travel Promotion Act September 11, 2009
By Leo Jakobson
On the eighth anniversary of 9/11, U.S. Senate took action to increase international travel to the United States by passing the Travel Promotion Act with overwhelming bipartisan support, making its enactment into law a near certainty.
The bill creates the Corporation for Travel Promotion, a public-private partnership with an annual budget of up to $200 million that would be dedicated to marketing and attracting international travelers to the U.S. Its budget is to be funded by private contributions and a $10 fee for foreign travelers from countries that do not require visas to enter the U.S.
"The United States Senate today took a giant step toward regaining America’s position as the premier travel destination and strengthening our struggling economy," says Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "By getting in the global game, America will create tens of thousands of new jobs and strengthen its image in the world as visitors leave with an improved perception of our country and her people."
Nearly identical legislation passed the House in its last session, also with overwhelming support. The Senate simply didn’t have time to vote on it before that session of congress ended.
While the bill doesn’t affect the incentive business directly, it is expected to be a big and long-term boon to the American hotels and resorts that host many incentive programs, and are struggling financially thanks to the combination of the recession and the bad reputation that business travel has been slapped with lately.
The U.S. is virtually alone among developed nations in not having some form of formal destination marketing program—if not a full ministry or department of tourism—that promotes tourism to its shores. Many foreign programs are funded by fees similar to the type proposed in the Travel Promotion Act.
Beyond that, international travel to the U.S. has been damaged in the eight years since 9/11, as foreign business and leisure travelers have found constantly changing security policies and reports of hostile or suspicious treatment at customs to be deterrents to visiting the country, the trade organization claims.
In June, the Congressional Budget Office predicted the Act would cut the national deficit by $425 million by 2019 with no additional costs to the government.
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