[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 110 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 110

  To express the sense of Congress that the President convene a White 
House Conference on Tourism to recognize travel and tourism in America 
   as a major economic force, providing tax revenue for thousands of 
   cities, counties, and States, income for hundreds of thousands of 
 business firms, and contributing to the Nation's growth and economic 
                               stability.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 10, 1993

   Mr. Oberstar (for himself, Mr. Roth, Mr. Clement, Mr. Bacchus of 
    Florida, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Brewster, Mr. de Lugo, Mr. Gekas, Mr. 
 Kopetski, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, Mr. Lancaster, Mr. Ravenel, 
Mr. Zeliff, Mr. Bevill, Mr. Abercrombie, and Mr. LaRocco) submitted the 
  following concurrent resolution; which was referred jointly to the 
 Committees on Public Works and Transportation and Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  To express the sense of Congress that the President convene a White 
House Conference on Tourism to recognize travel and tourism in America 
   as a major economic force, providing tax revenue for thousands of 
   cities, counties, and States, income for hundreds of thousands of 
 business firms, and contributing to the Nation's growth and economic 
                               stability.

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Job generation.--(A) Travel industry employment has 
        grown by 43 percent in the last 10 years representing twice the 
        growth rate for all United States industries.
            (B) The travel and tourism industry directly employs 
        6,000,000 people and indirectly creates employment for another 
        3,000,000 Americans or 1 in every 13 workers.
            (C) Wage and salary income from tourism was 4 times that of 
        the Nation's steel and automobile manufacturing combined in 
        1991.
            (2) Transportation and tourism interdependency.--(A) 
        Successful tourism development requires the linkage of 
        transportation facilities with recreational lands, small 
        businesses, and businesses supporting the traveling public, 
        such as intercity bus, rail, and air passenger carriers, cruise 
        ships, dining establishments, hotels, motels, campgrounds, car 
        rental firms, and other recreation service providers.
            (B) For transportation investment initiatives to contribute 
        toward economic development, such initiatives must be 
        responsive to emerging economic circumstances.
            (C) Affordability, flexibility, and convenience make 
        automobile travel the most popular mode of transportation for 
        Americans, accounting for approximately 80 percent of all 
        travel in the United States.
            (D) Establishment of appropriate transportation links from 
        each community to the rest of the Nation is a desirable goal.
            (E) The recent Federal commitment to scenic byways includes 
        specific enticements to communities which invest in tourism 
        development, successfully linking transportation with historic, 
        scenic, and recreation interests across America.
            (F) The airline industry has recorded losses for the past 3 
        years exceeding $10,000,000,000 resulting in the lay-offs of 
        over 60,000 employees and causing the loss of thousands of 
        other jobs in industries dependent on aviation.
            (G) A White House Conference on Tourism could contribute 
        substantially toward a better understanding of the airline 
        industry's problems and could help airlines resume growth 
        through the expansion of tourism.
            (3) Scenic byways program.--(A) The Scenic Byways Program 
        meets many of the needs of recreational and touring Americans, 
        particularly recreational drivers, bicyclists, and hikers.
            (B) The Scenic Byways Program protects the scenic, 
        historic, recreational, cultural, natural and archeological 
        integrity of regional communities, further enhancing tourism 
        development along these routes.
            (C) The Scenic Byways Program gives communities the 
        opportunity to invest in economic development initiatives that 
        promote responsible growth and allow tourists to enjoy both the 
        natural beauty and modern conveniences of travel.
            (4) Need for leadership.--(A) Many communities already have 
        the tourism resources with potential to improve local economic 
        conditions, but lack the organizational framework to organize, 
        plan, and implement programs to improve local economies.
            (B) A White House Conference on Tourism would help develop 
        a better informed and active leadership further ensuring the 
        stable and steady growth of tourism.
            (5) Federal land use and economic development.--(A) The 
        National Park Service, United States Forest Service, Bureau of 
        Land Management, Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, 
        United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs maintain more than 626,500,000 acres of land, much of 
        which is used for recreational and tourism related activities.
            (B) 1,259,000,000 visitors spent recreational time on land 
        managed by the Federal Government in 1991.
            (C) The State park system in the United States recorded 
        734,000,000 visitors to the more than 11,000,000 acres in 4,367 
        State parks during 1991.
            (6) Small business development.--(A) Small businesses 
        account for over 90 percent of the travel and tourism industry.
            (B) The Small Business Administration's 2 rural travel and 
        tourism loan programs in 1992 exceeded $500,000,000 in loans to 
        assist hotels, campgrounds, lodging services, amusement 
        services, tourist information bureaus, and transportation 
        services.
            (C) Tourism represents a unique opportunity for small 
        business development in disadvantaged communities to diversify 
        and improve their economic base.
            (7) International trade and tourism.--(A) 42,700,000 
        foreign visitors spent approximately $48,800,000,000 at United 
        States travel destinations in 1991, making tourism America's 
        number 1 export and creating a net trade surplus of 
        $16,000,000,000.
            (B) International tourism, the largest American business, 
        accounts for 11 percent of the total United States export of 
        goods and services.
            (C) The money expended by international visitors in the 
        United States in 1990 directly accounted for 870,000 American 
        jobs.
            (8) Agriculture and rural economic development.--(A) A task 
        force of Federal agencies is coordinating resources of these 
        agencies to help rural communities expand rural development 
        programs through enhanced tourism.
            (B) The food service industry provides employment for over 
        9,000,000 people and is a critical link to tourism trade.
            (C) The American tourist's spending patterns reveal that 
        dining out accounts for 25 cents of every traveler's dollar and 
        nearly \1/2\ of all the sales in America's fine-dining 
        restaurants comes from out-of-town guests.
            (9) Eco-tourism.--(A) The tourism industry has a 
        fundamental obligation to balance environmental concerns with 
        the use of natural resources to prevent depletion and 
        degradation of the environment through proper planning and 
        management processes.
            (B) The President has recommended the creation of new 
        partnerships committed to community service programs to 
        stimulate investment in communities and the rebuilding of our 
        national infrastructure and natural resources.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that (1) the President recognize the 
influential role rail, bus, air passenger service, highway, and byway 
investments and other transportation initiatives have in the 
development of tourism opportunities in the United States by convening 
a White House Conference on Tourism to address critical issues which 
highlight the interdependence of transportation and tourism, and (2) 
transportation infrastructure and the Scenic Byways Program are key 
components of economic development and should be addressed by the 
Conference.

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