[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H1281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IMPORTANCE OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Roth] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, everyone is talking about how on the campaign 
trail people are all talking about jobs, so I would like to address 
this issue of jobs today in a rational and forthright way.
  According to futurist John Naisbitt, three industries will drive the 
global economy of the 21st century. They are telecommunications, 
information technology, and travel, tourism.
  Rarely does a nation get the chance that we have now to reassess and 
to restructure our public policy approach to an industry that is slated 
to be a force of the future. Following the recommendations of the White 
House Conference on Travel and Tourism which took place here in 
Washington last October, we now have that chance to reshape our 
approach and our economic future with this monumental industry.
  You have heard the statistics before on travel and tourism. Did you 
know that travel and tourism employs 204 million people worldwide? That 
is almost as many people as we have living in the United States, minus 
California. That equals 10 percent of the global work force. One out of 
every 10 people around the world works in travel and tourism.
  In the United States alone, travel and tourism accounts for 1 out of 
every 9 jobs here in America. Tourism produces $655 billion in tax 
revenue. More than 10 percent of all capital investment worldwide goes 
into travel and tourism. Maybe that is why travel and tourism is 
growing 23 percent faster than the world economy.
  America needs a bold agenda for change, change not only in the way we 
do business, but in the new way that we look at the world.
  Consider for a moment that the single largest global revenue producer 
for individuals and governments, travel and tourism, has recently been 
cut from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Just totally cut it out, yet 
it is the No. 1 industry in America for jobs.
  Mr. Speaker, America needs a contingency plan. The Travel and Tourism 
Partnership Act is that plan. This plan allows the United States to 
compete globally for tourism dollars against other countries like 
Canada, Germany, Spain, and Australia, who are very sophisticated in 
this area and are taking these foreign tourists and therefore these 
foreign dollars from us.
  Even small countries like Malaysia and Tunisia have been spending 
more on travel and tourism year after year than we have. Now with the 
closing of the USTTA, U.S. tourism promotion efforts have dropped to 
zero. Let me repeat that, zero dollars. Anyone who tells you that this 
is not going to cost American jobs is wrong, dead wrong. It is going to 
cost us a lot of jobs. In the next 5 years, there will be an increase, 
an increase, of 50 million travelers worldwide. This represents 
thousands upon thousands of jobs in America and billions and billions 
of dollars.
  So when people talk to you about what is taking place on the 
Presidential campaign trail today, people talking about jobs, talk to 
them about travel and tourism, because this is where the jobs will be 
in the 1990's and the 21st century. This can mean tens of thousands of 
new jobs for American workers, but it is not going to happen if we in 
Congress do not have the foresight and take advantage of this 
remarkable opportunity.
  That is why, as chairman of the 304-member Travel and Tourist Caucus, 
the largest in Congress, I introduced the Travel and Tourism 
Partnership Act. This act sets forth a complete new approach to 
marketing the United States as a foreign destination. Rather than just 
another government-run program, my bill designs a partnership between 
the tourism industry and the public sector, a device to carry out a 
more effective marketing plan so we can have jobs and dollars in this 
country.

  This plan is vital to the United States. This is a job creating bill. 
Virtually all over the world, and particularly in the United States, 
travel and tourism is the predominant industry for jobs that our people 
need. With all this potential, the United States is losing its market 
share to travel and tourism in a growing world market. We must stop 
this trend.
  That is why I am on the floor today, to ask you for your help, so 
that you can say you have done something constructive to promote jobs, 
private enterprise jobs, right here in America.
  This act reflects the recommendation of some 1,700 sophisticated 
travel and tourist leaders, as well as local, State, and regional 
tourism officials who participated in the White House conference. By 
developing this partnership plan, we can create jobs here in America, 
keep our main streets alive, and pump new tourism dollars into our 
local economies. With one out of every nine American workers employed 
by travel and tourism, we cannot afford not to take action. Travel and 
tourism is the hidden giant in the U.S. economy.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for bold ideas in America, and it is time to 
chart a course for the future. I urge all of my colleagues to join 172 
members who have already cosponsored the Travel and Tourism Partnership 
Act. We must act, and we must act today. Join us and get involved in 
this blockbuster industry of the 1990's and the 21st century.

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