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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeffrey Stewart 212-521-2816
Travel Business Roundtable Lauds $100 Million Travel Promotion
Bill Testifies Before Congress in Support of Foley-Farr Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 23, 2002 -- A representative
from the Travel Business Roundtable (TBR) appeared before
Congress today to voice its enthusiastic support for the American
Travel Promotion Act (H.R. 3321) and to urge Congress to develop
a comprehensive strategy for promoting the United States as
a premier travel destination.
Jeffrey Stewart, a TBR Executive Committee member and Vice
President of Communications and Public Affairs for Loews Hotels,
made his remarks before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee
on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection during a hearing
on H.R. 3321. The bill was introduced by Reps. Mark Foley
(R-FL) and Sam Farr (D-CA) in November and has 63 bipartisan
cosponsors.
Stewart testified that "the $100 million in matching
grants that this legislation would provide to states would
enhance their ability to market themselves in the U.S. and
throughout the world. It would provide a much-needed stimulus
to states, local governments and the U.S. travel and tourism
industry as a whole. By encouraging travel, we can create
jobs and generate much needed tax revenues."
He noted that while some segments of the travel and tourism
industry are slowly beginning to improve, the recovery across
the industry and the country is in fact mixed. "In the
immediate aftermath of September 11th, it became apparent
that the effect on the industry went beyond just the airlines.
When people stopped flying, or traveling at all, they were
not staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, renting cars,
visiting museum or theme parks, or shopping. As a result,
hundreds of thousands of hospitality employees were laid off
or worked reduced hours. At the same time, hospitality companies
experienced revenue shortfalls and states and localities saw
their tax revenues shrink rapidly."
Stewart added that the Foley-Farr bill also represents a
valuable first step toward raising the country’s
visibility as a desirable destination for business and leisure
travelers. He noted that, "In 1996, travel and tourism
generated a balance of trade surplus of nearly $26 billion
for the U.S. In the year 2000, the trade surplus dropped to
$17 billion. Our country continues to lose market share -
we are now the third most visited destination in the
world - behind Spain and France." He noted that Spain
and France spend tens of millions of dollars each year to
promote themselves to foreign visitors while the United States
spends nothing. "In 2000, international visitors spent
an estimated $106.5 billion in the U.S.," Stewart said.
"It is simple good business sense to invest money to
retain and grow this important and lucrative market. International
visitors on average, spend six times as much as domestic travelers."
He added that TBR supports the development of an aggressive
brand marketing campaign, funded from both private and public
sources, to promote the U.S. as a travel destination. "By
and large, our industry does not need capital dollars - it
needs marketing dollars."
Stewart urged the Subcommittee to take action on the Foley-Farr
bill and to consider expanding on the legislation to include
funding for a U.S. destination marketing campaign.
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