House Passes Travel Promotion Act

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3232, the Travel Promotion Act of 2008, by voice vote, the Travel Industry Association (TIA) said. The legislation will create thousands of new jobs and spur economic growth nationwide by attracting millions of additional international travelers to the U.S., TIA said. The association believes that, since 9/11, visitors have found ever-changing security policies and negative foreign press coverage to be a deterrent to visiting the United States. Senate approval is needed.

"The U.S. House of Representatives took decisive action today to jump-start America's struggling economy and create thousands of new jobs by passing the Travel Promotion Act," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of TIA said.  "We now call on the U.S. Senate to act quickly to reverse the decline in overseas visitation to the United States and utilize the power of travel to strengthen the American economy."

The Travel Promotion Act, H.R. 3232, establishes a public-private partnership to promote the U.S. as a premier international travel destination and communicate U.S. security and entry policies.  The bill specifies that travel promotion would be paid for— at no cost to U.S. taxpayers— by private sector contributions and a modest fee on foreign travelers who do not pay $131 for a visa to enter the country.

Visit www.tia.org.