Couple of weeks back,  I wrote about the NTA economic summit in DC, which brought together 39 industry groups from the travel & tourism sectors, in a bid to produce some joint recommendations which were to be handed over to the Obama transition, as a list of recommendations on behalf of the industry.

Well, they have come up with 7 recommendations in a 12 page letter to President-Elect Barack Obama, which is grandly titled “How to Fuel the U.S. Economy through Travel & Tourism.” So, anyway, here’s the full letter (pdf file), and below is an excerpt.
President-elect Barack Obama
Executive Office of the President-elect
451 6th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001

Dear Mr. President-elect:

The following members of the travel and tourism sector of the U.S. economy are pleased to submit seven recommendations for your consideration.

Over thirty leading national representatives within this sector met December 16 at the new Capitol Visitors Center to develop high priority consensus recommendations to help you achieve our national goal to improve our economy.

The first section of our report outlines recommendations that should fit into the immediate stimulus legislation you are organizing.

The remainder of the recommendations also will help grow the economy through the travel and tourism sector which is one the fastest ways to generate immediate job growth.

All of us stand ready to assist you in any way possible at this challenging time.

Thank you for your leadership.
Yours truly,

And then it goes on to list the names of the heads of 24 organizations, including Michele Michalewicz, Chairman & CEO National Tour Association, and Kristen Zern, Executive Director Association of Travel Marketing Executives, among others.

And here’s the much awaited 7 recommendations (maybe they should have made it 10, and presented it in tablet form…):-

1. Federal Grants and Loans for Travel & Tourism Development at the Regional, State and Local Levels.
2. Inclusion of the Travel Promotion Act of 2008 (H.R. 3232, S. 1661) in the Next Economic Stimulus Plan.
3. Provision of Funding for Federal Lands.
4. Establishment of an Executive Office of Travel and Tourism.
5. The Creation of More User-friendly Visa Regulations and Procedures for Easing U.S. Entry/Exit Systems.
6. Passing Highway Reauthorization, including Tourism Development Projects.
7. Re-Examination of Travel Bans.

Posted on January 17th, 2009 by PLing
Filed under: Travel News