[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 172 (Thursday, November 2, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2097-E2098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM PARTNERSHIP ACT

                                 ______


                             HON. TOBY ROTH

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 2, 1995

  Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Congressional Caucus on 
Travel and Tourism, I have introduced legislation today to strengthen 
our tourism promotion efforts in the international travel market.
  Earlier this week, the White House conference endorsed a new plan to 
bring together the resources of the private sector and the resources of 
the Government in a public-private partnership to improve the promotion 
of international travel and tourism to the United States. This 
partnership would be a successor to the U.S. Travel and Tourism 
Administration.
  The partnership concept has been developed jointly by a group of 
industry leaders and officials of the Commerce Department.
  A group of us has been working for weeks to prepare this legislation. 
We took the first step on September 28 when I held a hearing in my 
Trade Subcommittee. We used that hearing to focus congressional 
attention on the problems we are having in the international travel 
market.
  Let me review the findings from our hearing. International tourism is 
now a $300 billion market. The world market has tripled in the last 10 
years and it will double again in the next decade. But our market share 
is dropping. Two years ago, the United States had 19 percent of the 
international tourism market.
  In 1993, nearly 48 million visitors came to the United States and 
spent $74 billion while in our country. In the past 2 years, the total 
world market has grown 10 percent, but our share dropped to less than 
17 percent.
  This year, we will have 2 million fewer visitors from abroad than 2 
years ago. This drop has cost us 177,000 jobs which should have gone to 
American workers. But those jobs went to our competitors in other 
countries.
  What's worse, this is not a temporary trend. If we stand still in our 
promotion efforts, our share of the world market will keep dropping. In 
5 years, we will have less than 14 percent of the world travel market.
  The question is: How can we turn this around? The White House 
conference has urged a stronger promotion effort in the overseas 
market. This is where we are falling down. The United States ranks 33d 
in tourism promotion, lower than Tunisia and Malaysia. We are being 
outclassed and outgunned. But, how do we get a stronger promotion 
program in a time of decreasing Federal spending?
  The answer is the public-private partnership, which my legislation 
would set up. The idea is to combine together the resources and 
creative talents of the American tourism industry with the 
overseas presence and data-bases of the U.S. Government.

  First, we would set up a national tourism board. This board would be 
comprised of industry leaders, State and regional tourism directors, 
and Federal officials. The board would devise a comprehensive strategy 
to increase our share of the world market. The board would advise the 
President, Congress, and the industry itself on specific steps to take.
  To coordinate a new promotion campaign, we would set up a nonprofit 
corporation--the national tourism organization. This organization would 
be directed by the private sector. We would combine the advertising 
talents of the private sector with market data and staff help from the 
Federal Government. The new organization would design tourism promotion 
advertisements aimed at the international market and it would carry out 
a new and more vigorous advertising campaign. The campaign would be 
coordinated with the advertising that the industry already does on its 
own.
  Initially, this new organization will get operational help from both 
the industry and the U.S. Government. But one of the first jobs for the 
tourism board will be to devise a long-term plan for financing this 
operation.
  When this plan is up and running, we would have a two-fold campaign: 
First, to attract more international visitors to the United States, and 
second to steer them toward American companies for every part of their 
trip.

[[Page E 2098]]

  Finally, my legislation would direct all of our overseas missions to 
make tourism promotion a priority. It would require our overseas posts 
to cooperate with the national tourism organization in attracting more 
international visitors.
  This is a new concept. We are breaking new ground. The U.S. 
Government is not used to working with private industry in a 
coordinated way on a promotional campaign. The leadership of the travel 
and tourism industry has convinced me that this can be done.
  My goal is to enact this bill into law by this time next year. This 
year, we will have 44 million international visitors to the United 
States with this partnership in place, our goal should be to increase 
that total to 100 million over the next 10 years.

             The Travel and Tourism Partnership Act of 1995

  (By Congressman Toby Roth, Chairman, Subcommittee on International 
 Economic Policy and Trade Chairman, Travel and Tourism Congressional 
                                Caucus)


                               fact sheet

       Implements a central recommendation of the White House 
     Conference on Travel and Tourism.
       Forms a ``public-private partnership'' between the travel/
     tourism industry and the federal government to strengthen the 
     promotion of international travel to the U.S.
       Establishes a 36-member National Tourism Board (75% private 
     sector) to advise the President and Congress on policies to 
     improve the competitiveness of the U.S. travel and tourism 
     industry in global markets, appointed by the President with 
     the advice of the travel and tourism industry.
       Establishes a National Tourism Organization as a not-for-
     profit corporation under federal charter to implement the 
     tourism promotion strategy developed by the National Tourism 
     Board; to develop and operate a marketing plan in partnership 
     with U.S. travel and tourism firms to increase the U.S. 
     market share of the world travel market; governed by a 45-
     member board of directors, reflecting the breadth of the 
     travel and tourism industry; board of directors develops a 
     plan for long-term financing; interim funding from industry; 
     and data and staff resources provided by federal government.
       Requires federal agencies and U.S. overseas missions to 
     cooperate in implementing promotion strategy developed by 
     National Tourism Board.

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