[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 13, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2345-E2346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E2345]]


    AMERICA'S TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY: CONGRESSMAN ROTH'S VISION

                                 ______


                       HON. BARBARA F. VUCANOVICH

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 12, 1995

  Mrs. VUCANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, last January the members of the 
Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus selected Congressman Toby Roth 
to be its new chairman. The wisdom of our choice is underscored by the 
fact that just 11 months later, Toby Roth has doubled the size of the 
caucus, to 305 members. Travel and Tourism is now the largest caucus in 
Congress.
  This is but one measure of Toby Roth's tireless efforts to invigorate 
the caucus and to provide our Nation's $400 billion travel and tourism 
industry with an effective voice on Capitol Hill. I applaud Chairman 
Roth's efforts, because the travel and tourism industry, as vibrant as 
it is, very much needs an effective advocate within the Congress.
  It is clear that with Toby Roth's energetic leadership, the caucus 
will meet this need. This same judgment also has been reached by the 
leadership of the travel and tourism industry. Two weeks ago, 
Congressman Roth addressed the annual meeting of the Travel Business 
Roundtable, which is comprised of the Nation's top 100 travel industry 
executives.
  Toby Roth's speech sets forth a clear vision and specific goals for 
the travel industry, our Nation's second largest employer. I urge all 
Members of the House to read his insightful address.

                    Remarks by Congressman Toby Roth

       It's an honor to be here, because in this room, we have the 
     leaders of America's fastest growing, most dynamic industry. 
     Last year, your companies brought in $400 billion in 
     revenues. That makes travel and tourism the second-largest 
     industry in America.
       The 44 million international visitors that come to use your 
     facilities bring in $78 billion in revenues. That means you 
     generate 11 percent of all our exports. You employ 6 million 
     people directly. And another 7 million jobs depend on you. So 
     you account for 13 million American jobs. Do you know that 
     today, there are 40 million children in this country under 
     the age of 10. Over the next two decades, we have to find 
     jobs for these people, or we will face a social and economic 
     catastrophe.
       When people ask where the jobs will be in the 21st century, 
     the answer is: Travel and tourism. So you are vitally 
     important to our country's future--and that's no 
     overstatement. These figures are impressive, but when I say 
     you are the most dynamic industry in America, I am really 
     talking about you, as business people, as industry leaders 
     and as a real force in the American economy. That's what has 
     always impressed me about travel and tourism--the people.
       What's more, that is what is attracting so many Members of 
     Congress to our Travel and Tourism Caucus. In January, when I 
     became chairman, we had 127 members. Today, we have 305--
     making Travel and Tourism the largest caucus in Congress. We 
     have had an aggressive organizing effort these past 10 
     months. But what has brought us the new members is really 
     your industry. And on behalf of the caucus, I want to tell 
     that we are ready to work with you.
       But my friends, I must tell you something that you may not 
     realize about your industry. After having worked for years in 
     Capitol Hill for travel and tourism, I have come to the 
     realization that the industry is a sleeping giant. The whole 
     is not the sum of its parts. How many people in America know 
     how big you are? How many Americans realize that you are the 
     Nation's second-largest industry? And how many people in the 
     media are writing about travel and tourism as the key element 
     in our future economic growth? The answer is, not enough.
       That's what makes this organization so important. Simply 
     put, the industry needs you, and we in Congress need 
     you. That's not to put down the current industry 
     representation in Washington. Travel and tourism has a 
     number of very effective voices in Washington, both in the 
     companies and in the associations. I know them and I work 
     with them. But the Travel Business Roundtable brings an 
     ingredient that, frankly, has been missing: the active 
     involvement of the industry leaders.
       We need a sharper focus on a few top priorities. We need 
     the clout and the access that you bring. And we need the 
     visibility, in the media and in the Halls of Congress, that 
     only top executives like you can attract. It is your active 
     involvement that will set the roundtable apart--and make it 
     an effective force for the industry. Later on in the agenda, 
     you will focus on setting a couple of priorities. I think 
     this is a wise course.
       Success will come by taking a couple of issues--issues that 
     really mean something to the industry--and concentrating your 
     time and energy on winning those points. It's the same 
     principle that each of you follows in your own business: 
     focus, concentrate and win. Today I want to suggest what one 
     of those priorities should be, and to propose a game plan for 
     success. As we look to the future, the key question is: where 
     will the growth come from? Today, travel and tourism is a 
     $400 billion industry--that's 6 percent of our GDP. Our task 
     is to work together to insure that you become even bigger.
       To reach that goal, the international market is critical. 
     The industry cannot rely on the domestic travel market alone. 
     That's the underlying message of the White House conference. 
     One of the key recommendations is to strengthen our 
     promotional efforts in the overseas market. As you all know 
     better than I, promotion translates into revenues.
       The White House conference proposed a ``public-private 
     partnership''. The idea is to combine together the creativity 
     and talents of the private sector with the resources of 
     government--local, State and Federal--to better promote the 
     United States as a travel destination. This is an urgent 
     matter. Two years ago, we had 18 percent of the world market. 
     Today, we have 16 percent.
       This year, we will have 44 million international visitors. 
     That's down 2 million from just 2 years ago. Yet the world 
     market is growing steadily. It has tripled over the last 10 
     years, and will double again in the next 10. So we are losing 
     share in a growing market.
       The bottom line is: The industry won't grow if we keep on 
     losing ground in the international travel market. And the 
     hard reality is, with our current promotion effort, our share 
     will keep on going down. It is projected to keep on going 
     down, to less than 14 percent by the year 2000.
       So the question is: How do we turn this around? And the 
     answer is clear: A stronger, more creative promotion 
     campaign. After all, we are being outclassed and outgunned by 
     all of our major competitors. Our tourism promotion budget is 
     $16 million, a small fraction of what European countries 
     spend. And we see the result in our declining market share. 
     So the partnership concept was developed and ratified at the 
     White House conference. I have taken that concept and drafted 
     a bill.
       In your folder, you have a copy of the bill, a summary and 
     my comments from the Congressional Record. We already have 
     support from the Clinton administration. And, thanks to an 
     effective job by Tom Kershaw, Jon Tisch, Darryl, and a few 
     others, we have support from Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole. But 
     to get something enacted into law, much more needs to be 
     done.
       This is where you can play a key role, on a proposal that 
     will bring tangible results to the industry. Now, you are all 
     business people. That's where I come from--a business 
     background. So I thought you would appreciate having a 
     specific proposal for how the roundtable can play the 
     critical role in winning enactment of this legislation. In 
     your folders, you have a one-page ``Game Plan for Enactment'' 
     of the Travel, and Tourism Partnership Act. This lays out a 
     strategy for winning enactment of the partnership plan by 
     next summer. This game plan will work, if we work together 
     and make this a priority.
       The plan is to kick off the campaign with a big hearing by 
     my subcommittee and the other House panel which has 
     jurisdiction. This hearing is already in the planning stages. 
     We would use this hearing to demonstrate what we could 
     achieve through the partnership--in other words to show the 
     kind of sophisticated, effective promotional effort that the 
     private sector can produce. Building on that hearing, we 
     would work together to corral the votes to get our bill 
     through the two House committees and onto the House floor.
       Just prior to the House floor vote, we would have a 
     concentrated day of Capitol Hill visits by industry leaders. 
     Once through the House, we would use the same strategy in the 
     Senate, working with Senator Bryan, who is our lead Senate 
     sponsor. The idea is to use your contacts and clout at the 
     key points in the game. It would require two visits to 
     Washington and some phone calls at the right time. The bottom 
     line is that a well-conceived plan, together with a modest 
     investment of your time and effort at the right points will 
     win the game.
       Let me close with a business proposition. If you will adopt 
     this as a priority for the roundtable and make a commitment 
     to this plan, then I will devote myself to this project in 
     Congress. Together, we can win and achieve something that 
     will bring credit to you and the travel business roundtable--
     and will be a major achievement for the future of the 
     industry. If travel and tourism is a sleeping giant, then 
     it's time for us to wake up that giant.
     
[[Page E2346]]

       Together, we can make a difference for this great industry, 
     for the millions of Americans who work in you companies, and 
     for our country's future.

                          ____________________