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PRESS RELEASE
May 11, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Debra Kelman Loew
212.794-3577
TRAVEL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE (TBR) HONORS DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY SECRETARY WITH THE LEADERSHIP IN TOURISM AWARD
Award to be Given at a VIP Dinner in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C — In conjunction with tonight's
opening dinner for the second annual Travel Business Roundtable
(TBR)/U.S. Chamber of Commerce Summit, TBR will honor
Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge with it’s annual
Leadership in Tourism Award. The award is given each year
to a public servant who has demonstrated a deep commitment
to and understanding of the travel and tourism industry.
It is particularly appropriate that Secretary Ridge is being
honored as this year's award recipient, as the theme of the
Summit being held on May 12 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
is "Securing the Future of Travel and Tourism."
The award is being presented to Secretary Ridge by Jonathan
Tisch, TBR Chairman and Chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels,
at a VIP Dinner for top industry CEOs, hosted by InterContinental
Hotels Group, at the distinguished Willard InterContinental
Hotel in Washington, DC.
In his roles as the first Director of the White House Office
of Homeland Security, and now as the first Secretary of the
Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Ridge works with
more than 180,000 employees from combined agencies to strengthen
our borders, provide for intelligence analysis and infrastructure
protection, improve the use of science and technology to counter
weapons of mass destruction, and to create a comprehensive
response and recovery division.
But, it is his commitment to balancing the nation's security
needs with encouraging economic growth and prosperity for
which he is being given this award. To that point, Secretary
Ridge and Secretary of State Colin Powell, recently testified
before Congress on behalf of the Bush Administration to request
that Congress extend the October 26, 2004 statutory deadline
requiring people traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)
to present biometric passports upon entry to the United States
as these countries have indicated they will not be able to
meet the deadline.
In keeping with his main priority to protect our borders,
Secretary Ridge testified that to increase security at our
borders, all visitors traveling under the VWP must now be
processed through the US-VISIT program, which is currently
operational at airports and seaports. This screening system,
which has been in place since January 5, 2004, captures a
traveler’s biometric information in the form of inkless
finger scans and a digital photograph, and takes about 15
seconds per traveler to complete on average.
A longtime supporter of the travel and tourism industry,
Secretary Ridge was an advocate for the industry during his
tenure as Governor of Pennsylvania from 1995-2001. He kept
his promise to make Pennsylvania “a leader among states
and a competitor among nations" by focusing on areas
of economic development, such as the travel industry, as well
as education, health and the environment.
"We are very proud to bestow this award upon Secretary
Ridge," notes Tisch. "In addition to his commitment
to the country, he has long understood how travel and tourism
is a vehicle for economic growth as well as job creation."
TBR has also taken a lead role in the addressing the challenge
of balancing security and economic growth with the release
of a White Paper in March 2004. Titled, Homeland Security
and the Travel and Tourism Industry - Finding
the Proper Balance, the document underscores Secretary
Tom Ridge’s admonition about the need to create the proper
balance between protecting our homeland and promoting free
and open commerce.
Past recipients of the Leadership in Tourism Award include
Assistant Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK).
The first Summit hosted by TBR and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
Re-Igniting Growth in Travel and Tourism, was
held last year and brought together more than 200 CEO and
senior level executives along with three Cabinet Secretaries,
Congressional leaders, mayors from cities across the country,
and other senior Administration officials.
This year's gathering will focus on a myriad of homeland
security issues (i.e. visa policies, machine readable passports,
biometrics, US-VISIT) currently facing our nation and which
are immensely impacting the travel and tourism industry.
Among the sessions and topics that will be covered are:
- Keynote address featuring Secretary of State Colin
Powell;
- Outlooks from the Senate and House featuring
Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND), Chairman of the Senate
Democratic Policy Committee; and Representative Harold
Rogers (R-KY), Chairman, Homeland Security Subcommittee,
House Appropriations Committee
- Current State of the Travel and Tourism Industry;
- Ensuring the Country's Transportation Infrastructure
for the Next Century featuring the Department
of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta;
- Effectively Addressing Security and Mobility in
American Travel and Tourism; and
- Promoting the United States to the World
For more information, please visit http://events.uschamber.com/conference/brochure/index.cfm?ConferenceID=18
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