U.S. Travel Association Heeds President’s Call to 'Bring Jobs Back'

State of Travel Industry Strong, Hiring Outpacing Other Economic Sectors

The U.S. Travel Association applauded President Obama today for announcing initiatives in his State of the Union speech that will allow the travel industry to continue leading the economic recovery and create American jobs. As noted in an article in today’s New York Times, travel is one of the healthiest sectors of the economy, and travel industry hiring is outpacing several other sectors.

“The hardworking men and women of America’s travel industry stand ready to 'bring jobs back' by welcoming millions of international travelers to the U.S.,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “Expediting travel infrastructure projects, along with the President’s announcement last week on a national travel strategy, is a sign his administration is serious about increasing travel to – and within – the United States, and that will have a significant benefit to our economy.”

Last week, President Obama called for a national strategy to make the United States the world’s top travel and tourism destination as part of a comprehensive effort to spur job creation. The number of travelers from emerging economies with growing middle classes – such as China, Brazil and India – is projected to grow by 135 percent, 274 percent and 50 percent respectively by 2016 when compared to 2010.

President Obama issued an Executive Order and charged several government agencies to take part in efforts and new initiatives to significantly increase travel. Some of the initiatives include: a new pilot program and rule change for visa processing in China and Brazil; a final rule to expand and make the Global Entry program permanent; appoint new members to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board; and the Nomination of Taiwan to the Visa Waiver Program.

“We appreciate the recent efforts by the U.S. State Department to lower visa wait times,” said Dow. “We look forward to working with the administration to implement the President’s strategy to welcome more international visitors to the U.S.”

Among U.S. Travel’s objectives for 2012 will be for the U.S. government to pursue concrete actions to increase international travel, business travel, participation in meetings and conventions and leisure travel throughout America. Policies U.S. Travel will champion include expansion of the Visa Waiver Program to Brazil, Argentina and Chile; further improvements to our entry process for international guests; streamlining the TSA experience for trusted travelers; and building an aviation system that encourages greater air travel.