[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 55 (Thursday, April 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E630-E631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRAVEL AND TOURISM PARTNERSHIP ACT

                                 ______


                             HON. TOBY ROTH

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 1996

  Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to report that today H.R. 
2579, the Travel and Tourism Partnership Act, has 226 cosponsors--a 
majority of the House of Representatives.
  Two hundred twenty-six Members of the House understand that travel 
and tourism means economic prosperity for millions of Americans.
  Two hundred twenty-six Members understand that the travel and tourism 
industry is the first, second, or third largest employer in every 
congressional district in America.
  Natiowide, the industry employs over 13 million people. That 
translates to one out of every nine Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, last week you and I and millions of other Americans 
wrote out a check to the government and paid our taxes.
  Thanks to the travel and tourism industry--the second largest 
industry in the Nation--you and I and every household in the United 
States paid $652 less on their tax bill.
  That's because the travel and tourism industry puts $54 billion into 
the U.S. Treasury in the way of tax revenue.
  Ironically, last week, on April 15, the U.S. Travel and Tourism 
Administration was forced to close its doors forever.
  Closing USTTA means U.S. tourism promotion efforts drop to zero.
  That's why H.R. 2579 is so important. The Travel and Tourism 
Partnership Act will make sure that in this $3.4-trillion industry, the 
United States claims its fair share of the pie.
  According to futurist John Naisbitt, three industries will drive the 
global economy of the 21st century: telecommunications, information 
technology, and travel and tourism.
  With the Travel and Tourism Partnership Act, we now have the chance 
to reshape our approach and our economic future with this monumental 
industry.
  You've all heard the statistics before:
  First, tourism employs 204 million people worldwide: almost as many 
people as we have living in the U.S., minus California. That equals 10 
percent of the global workforce. And in the United States alone, travel 
and tourism accounts for one out of every nine employees.
  Second, tourism produces $655 billion dollars in Federal, State, and 
local tax revenue.
  Third, more than 10 percent of all capital investment worldwide goes 
into travel and tourism. Maybe that's why travel and tourism is growing 
23 percent faster than the world economy.
  However, in this vastly growing market, 2 million fewer visitors came 
to the United States last year. That's a 19 percent decrease.
  H.R. 2579 addresses this critical problem of declining U.S. market 
share.
  In a $300 billion international travel market, the United States of 
America should not be getting the short end of the stick.
  Why is the U.S. losing ground?
  The major reason for this slippage is that we are being out-classed 
and out-hustled by other nations' tourism promotion campaigns.

[[Page E631]]

  And, as I said before, when USTTA closed its doors on April 15, U.S. 
tourism promotion efforts plummeted to zero.
  It's time to turn this situation around.
  We're losing jobs.
  We lost 177,000 jobs in the past 3 years to countries who are willing 
to promote tourism.
  H.R. 2579 is the blueprint we need to increase our market share and 
save those jobs.
  This 226 Member bipartisan bill will establish a ground-breaking 
cooperative effort between the tourism industry and the U.S. Government 
to promote of international travel to the United States.
  This plan allows the United States to compete globally for tourism 
dollars against countries like Canada, Germany, Spain, and Australia.
  Even small countries like Malaysia and Tunisia have been spending 
more than the United States year after year.
  In the next 5 years, there will be an increase of some 50 million 
travelers worldwide.
  This could mean tens of thousands of new jobs for American workers. 
But not if we in Congress don't have the foresight to take advantage of 
this remarkable opportunity.
  That is precisely why, as chairman of the 304-member Travel and 
Tourism Caucus--the largest caucus in Congress, I introduced the Travel 
and Tourism Partnership Act.
  It's time to take a bold new approach to our economic future.
  Rather than creating another government-run program, this bill 
designs a partnership between the tourism industry and the public 
sector to devise and carry out a more effective marketing plan.
  H.R. 2579 is vital to the United States.
  This is a job-creating bill.
  All over the world, and particularly in the United States, travel and 
tourism is the predominant industry for the jobs our people need.
  With all this potential, the United States is losing its market share 
of travel and tourism in a growing market.
  With one out of every nine American workers employed by travel and 
tourism, we can't afford not to take action.
  I urge you to join the 226 Members who have already co-sponsored the 
Travel and Tourism Partnership Act.
  Join us and get involved in the blockbuster industry of the 1990's 
and the 21st Century.

             The Travel and Tourism Partnership Act of 1995

                       (By Congressman Toby Roth)


                               factsheet

       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 a long-term financing; interim funding from 
     industry; data and staff resources provided by federal 
     government.
       Requires federal agencies and U.S.C. overseas missions to 
     cooperate in implementing promotion strategy developed by 
     National Tourism Board.

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