The U.S. Travel Association applauded the launch of the U.S. Senate Travel & Tourism Caucus. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mark Begich (D-AK) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) announced the U.S. Senate Travel & Tourism Caucus, a bipartisan caucus that will work to promote common-sense policies that reduce barriers to travel and raise awareness of the importance of the job-creating travel and tourism industry.
"We know our country can create more jobs if it can get more people traveling, which is why it is vitally important to have a caucus focused on travel policies," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel. "We welcome this caucus and are thankful to Senators Begich, Blunt, Kirk and Klobuchar for creating it, and we look forward to working with them to advance important travel issues like improving the U.S. visa system and making aviation security more efficient."
The U.S. travel industry generated $1.8 trillion in economic output and directly generated $118 billion in tax revenue for local, state and federal governments in 2010. The industry supports 14 million jobs and is among the top 10 industries in 48 states and Washington, DC in terms of employment.
"Whether it is support from President Obama on the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act of 2011 or the Transportation Security Administration's decision to implement a trusted traveler program, we're seeing increased support for policies that promote travel and the 14 million Americans it employs," said Dow. "We look forward to seeing many other senators join the Travel & Tourism Caucus in the 112th Congress."
In related news, U.S. Travel also reports gains with the U.S. Conference of Mayors who recently passed two resolutions that support key travel issues.
The first resolution, "Resolution in Support of Improving International Travel Facilitation through the Discover America Partnership Reactivation and Ready for Takeoff Report," supports U.S. Travel's recent report on improving the U.S. visa system and the reactivation of the Discover America Partnership, which U.S. Travel chairs.
The second resolution, "Resolution in Support of Creating a Government Administered Trusted Traveler Program," supports the creation of a trusted traveler program, a key recommendation of U.S. Travel's March report on improving aviation security.
"U.S. mayors understand the important role travel plays in local economies," said Dow. "We greatly appreciate their support, and we look forward to working alongside them to get more people visiting their cities." Visit www.ustravel.org.