PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Debra Kelman Loew
212-794-DKPR (3577)
917.612.2325 (cell)
dkelman@dkpr.com

September 10, 2003

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE CONVENES FIRST MEETING OF THE NEWLY CREATED U.S. TRAVEL AND TOURISM PROMOTION ADVISORY BOARD

International Marketing Campaign Will Focus on Five Countries

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The partnership between the Bush Administration and the travel and tourism industry took another step forward when Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans convened the first meeting of the newly created U.S. Travel and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board held on September 8 at Ellis Island in New York City.

The Board was created in conjunction with legislation passed earlier this year, which appropriated $50 million and authorized the Secretary of Commerce to award grants and make lump sum payments for this coordinated and historic campaign. The Advisory Board of 15 travel and tourism industry leaders was announced in August. It includes 11 members whose companies are also members of the Travel Business Roundtable (TBR) including TBR Chairman Jonathan Tisch, also chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels.

Among the announcements Secretary Evans made at the first meeting included citing the five countries that the Bush Administration will focus its initial international tourism promotional efforts on æ Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany. On the whole, international travel has declined by 12 percent in the last two years resulting in a loss of $12 billion dollars. A one percent shift would result in the creation of 154,000 jobs in the travel and tourism industry.

In addition, Secretary Evans announced that James A. Rasulo, president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, will serve as Chairman, and Noel Irwin Hentschel, chair and CEO of American Tours International (ATI), will serve as Vice Chair of the Advisory Board. Rasulo and Irwin Hentschel will lead the Board in advising the Commerce Department on how best to increase the number of international visitors to the United States and ensure that the share of the country’s international receipts continues to grow.

"This first meeting is an exciting step towards fulfilling our objective of revitalizing the nation's travel and tourism industry," notes Tisch. "It is also the manifestation of how the public and private sectors can and must work together towards common goals. Because while our industry is operated by the private sector, we can only be successful with public sector support."

Secretary Evans also organized the board into three subcommittees. These groups will meet or speak on an ongoing basis to focus on the specific activities in their area, and will then report the status of their findings to the Secretary and Board. The committees are broken out as follows:

Strategic Alliances/Partnerships:
Noel Irwin Hentschel, Chair -- Chairman and CEO, American Tours International (ATI)*
Manuel Cortez - Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau*
Jonathan Linen - Vice Chairman, American Exprss Company*
Manuel Stamatakis – Board Members of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau*
Henry Silverman – President and CEO, Cendant Corporation*
Jonathan Tisch - Chairman and CEO, Loews Hotels*

Program Measurement/Return on Investment:
Glenn Tilton, Chair - Chairman and CEO, United Airlines*
Jeremy Jacobs - Chairman and CEO, Delaware North Company
Barry Sternlicht - Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts*
Charles Gargano - Chairman and CEO, Empire State Development Corporation

Marketing:
James Rasulo, Chair - President, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts*
William Hyde, Jr - President and CEO, Ruth's Chris Steak House
J.W. Marriott Jr. - Chairman and CEO, Marriott Hotels*
Robert Taubman - Chairman and CEO, The Taubman Company*
Chris von Imhof - Alaska International Airport Tourism and Marketing Council

Concurrent with the first meeting of the Board, the State Department also announced that it has agreed to use its waiver authority and postpone the implementation of a regulation requiring travelers from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries to have Machine Readable Passports (MRP) for entry into the United States. The policy is now scheduled to go into effect on October 26, 2004 rather than next month, which could have created chaos and confusion for travelers coming from VWP countries, many of which are our strongest allies. The industry had communicated its concerns that this would have had a detrimental impact on the travel industry and would have subsequently had a negative impact on the economy.

The next meeting of the Advisory Board will take place in Washington, D.C. on October 13 with additional meetings also set for November 10 and December 8.

Photo of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board

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