Cited: Reuters
There is controversy in the travel industry as a new travel promotion act is signed by Pres. Barack Obama. Many in the industry fear that the act will backfire. However, most in the US travel industry are hoping that it will reverse the decline in international visitors to the country and create jobs.
President Barack Obama, on March 4, signed into law the Travel Promotion Act, a measure that will set up an 11-member board to develop a national multi-channel marketing campaign to draw foreign travelers and provide information on travel policies.
Industry executives say the act can help strengthen the U.S. economy and revive the sector, which has taken a hit as the recession dampened demand for air travel and led consumers to cut back discretionary spending at hotels and restaurants.
Jim Abrahamson, president of the Americas region for InterContinental Hotels Group, the world’s largest hotel company, said there are lessons to be learned from other countries that use aggressive marketing campaigns to attract visitors.
“Today we’re a marketing and messaging-driven economy,” Abrahamson said. “We have to keep our product in front of customers.”
According to independent analysis by Oxford Economics, the program could attract 1.6 million additional visitors from other countries and create more than $4 billion in consumer spending annually, as well as generate $321 million in new federal tax revenue each year. As mentioned in previous posts, this landmark legislation was sorely needed, as America’s travel industry was the only major country without a national tourism promotion budget. Not keeping pace with global competitors cost us 68 million visitors to the U.S. and more than $500 billion in total spending over the last decade.
In addition, the U.S. Travel Association estimates that, based on its analysis of government data, the U.S. travel 
industry lost nearly 400,000 jobs between 2008 and 2009. However, with this new program we can move forward, creating an estimated 40,000 new American jobs in the first year according to U.S. Travel Association and help reduce the federal budget by $425 million over 10 years according to the Congressional Budget Office.
But some in the travel industry expressed concern about a $10 fee that will be charged every two years to visitors from countries that participate in the Visa waiver program. That fee, along with voluntary private sector contributions, will be used to pay for the program.
“We generally oppose tourism taxes, which this is,” said Steve Lott, a North America spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, which represents 230 airlines worldwide. “We’re concerned about retaliatory action by other countries.”
Lott added that national resources would best be directed toward addressing barriers faced by global travelers in the United States. For example, cutting the time required for foreigners to obtain a visa and minimizing security hassles at U.S. airports would do much to improve perceptions about traveling to America, Lott said.
The non-profit U.S. Travel Association said there has been a drop in overseas travel to the United States each year since the September 11, 2001, attacks. Last year, 2.4 million fewer overseas visitors came to the United States than in 2000, it said.
This new law, which was signed March 4 by President Obama, creates a multi-million-dollar public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier international travel destination and better clarify U.S. security and entry policies to potential foreign travelers.
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My Take: One thing is for sure, if it works, it is something the country needs. I, myself, do not travel that much because I am disabled and on a limited income. If I were to travel, I would love to go to Australia. When I was a kid, my brother gave me two authentic Australian boomerangs. Of course, one was actually for him. I love them and I wanted to learn how to use mine, but never could get the hang of it. I was ever able to go I would bring back a ton of the Australian souvenirs.
I would also bring back miniature flags for the areas I visited. I would want to see a real live koala and a kangaroo in its natural habitat and not a zoo. Of course, I would also like to visit Hawaii. However, unless I happen to hit the lottery I will not be visiting either location.
But this Travel Act, very well could bring in much-needed money to the country as well as jobs for the millions that are unemployed presently. So, I will cross my fingers and pray that the Act does what it is meant to do, help.
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