[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 126 (Wednesday, September 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9160-S9161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRAVEL PROMOTION ACT OF 2009--Continued

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I hoped that my colleague from North Dakota 
might be here, and perhaps we will still get together before the debate 
concludes on the tourism bill. But I think we were two ships passing in 
the night earlier today. He was quoting statistics that had to do with 
individual people. I was quoting statistics that had to do with 
monetary receipts. We were both getting at the problem of whether 
tourism was up or down, and I told him I would get the source of my 
statistics and we could reengage in that debate.
  The primary point the Senator from North Dakota was making was that 
from his statistics, relating to the number of people, tourism was 
down. I had asserted that based upon Commerce Department statistics 
tourism receipts were very much up. So let me quote the statistics from 
the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries at the Commerce Department 
for 2008. I quote:

       Total travel receipts reached unprecedented levels in 2008, 
     with a record-breaking $142.1 billion on travel to, and 
     tourism-related activities, within the United States--an 
     increase of 16 percent over the previous record set in 2007.

  That is what I had quoted earlier today.
  The Senator from North Dakota said: Well, my statistics show that 
tourism is down. I think he was quoting numbers of tourists. I do not 
know whether that discrepancy is real. I do not question his 
statistics, but I did want to verify mine come from the Department of 
Commerce. Presumably they are valid.
  He had also raised a question as to whether that includes travel from 
Mexico and Canada. My understanding is, yes, this statistic does 
include receipts for travel and tourism for all travelers to the United 
States, which would include Mexico and Canada.
  Also, according to a press release and information that was gathered 
by the Senate Republican policy committee, the Commerce Department's 
Office of Travel and Tourism Industries also issued a travel forecast 
in May of 2009 that foreign travel will reach a record high of 64 
million travelers to the United States by the year 2013. Again, that 
includes travel from all countries, which would include Mexico and 
Canada.
  The Commerce Department also estimates that travel to the United 
States by visitors from countries other than Mexico and Canada should 
rebound by 2012. The point is that through a series of situations, 
including, primarily economic conditions, there has been a lower level 
of travel after 2008 by overseas travelers.
  This Commerce Department forecast also said, as I said earlier today, 
it is important to continue to work on those initiatives which will 
facilitate visits by overseas travelers, including adequate 
infrastructure of ports of entry, visa services, and funding to make 
the online registration requirements for foreign visitors truly easy 
and operational.
  My point earlier today was that rather than charging $10 a visa for 
foreign travelers to come here to encourage more foreign tourism, which 
seemed to me to be rather counterproductive, and since there is plenty 
of travel promotion activity by the Department of Commerce, by States, 
by localities--you can hardly turn on the TV without seeing some 
community or State advertising, promoting tourism within its area--that 
what we should be doing is devoting any resources we have available for 
this purpose to improving the infrastructure at our ports of entry, our 
visa requirements, and other travel accommodations for those visitors 
who

[[Page S9161]]

do come here so it is easier to come here.
  I would note I just read a story in the Arizona papers today that 
talked about the passport requirements from Mexico and Canada. They 
have been in effect for Mexico, but they are newly instituted with 
respect to Canada. As a result, theme parks in New York State, for 
example, had noted their activity from Canada was down somewhat. They 
attributed it to soggy weather, the state of the economy, and the 
additional passport requirement. I am sure all of these are factors.
  So I suspect the statistics my colleague from North Dakota was citing 
were accurate statistics, as were, obviously, the ones I cited from the 
Department of Commerce.
  The bottom line point I was trying to make is that we have a lot of 
people who come to this country. We make a lot of money from them. We 
want to encourage that, to be sure. But I did not think we were 
encouraging it when we put a $10 fee on every visa for foreign 
tourists, and that we might want to--if we had that money available, or 
if we wanted to attract more visitors, the better way to do it would be 
to make our ports of entry and the other facilities by which people 
access entry to the United States more accommodating to them. Those 
were reasons I believed made this legislation unnecessary and unwise.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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