PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Cathy Keefe (TIA)
(202) 408.2183
ckeefe@tia.org, www.tia.org

September 5, 2006

TRAVEL INDUSTRY ENDORSES ADVISORY REPORT TO U.S. SECRETARY OF COMMERCE AS ‘WAKE UP CALL’

WASHINGTON, DC — Travel industry leaders today endorsed an advisory report issued to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce as a “wake up call” emphasizing the need to pursue a wide range of strategies for welcoming more international visitors, including using travel as a key resource in our public diplomacy efforts and establishing a coordinated international marketing program.

The report, which was submitted by the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB), details the value of travel and tourism to our economy, the need to make visa processes easier for people to visit the U.S., and the importance of establishing an international marketing program that asks people in other countries to discover America.

“This report should establish our national travel and tourism policy,” said Roger Dow, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Travel Industry Association (TIA). “In implementing the strategies put forth in the report, we will be able to compete for an increased share of the world travel market and unleash the power of travel to help improve America’s image around the world.”

Dow pointed out that every one percent of world travel market share that the U.S. gains will result in an estimated 8.1 million more visitors to the U.S.

“Policymakers and opinion leaders should understand the benefit of having 8 million more people a year visiting our country and returning home to share their experience of America,” Dow said. “Research shows that those who have visited America are 42 percent more inclined to have favorable opinions of America compared with those who have never been here. Our industry can play a vital role in winning the hearts and minds of people around the world.”

Jonathan Tisch, Chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, Chairman of the Travel Business Roundtable, and a member of the advisory board, noted that travel and tourism is at the heart of America’s economic and national security.

“Every one percent of world market share that the U.S. gains will also result in $13.4 billion in additional revenues, 153,000 additional U.S. jobs and $2 billion in additional tax revenues,” Tisch said. “The time to tap into the benefits of promoting travel and tourism as detailed in the report is now.”

The U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board issued the report, titled Restoring America’s Travel Brand: A National Strategy to Compete for International Visitors, at the direction of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez in his efforts to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in the world travel and tourism market.

The Board urged policymakers to make travel and tourism a centerpiece of efforts to improve America’s image in the world. “Marketing experts understand that the most powerful driver of reputation is word-of-mouth,” the report stated. “Any effort to improve the U.S. image in the world must include a thorough assessment of the first impression that visitors form as they enter the U.S.,” as well as a nationally-coordinated program designed to motivate them to travel here.

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