U.S. Chamber's Donohue Highlights Role of Travel Industry in Creating Jobs

ORLANDO, FL—Continuing to lead the fight to create 20 million jobs in America over the next decade, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue today highlighted the role of the travel and tourism industry in creating jobs, and outlined areas where the industry and government can work together to spur economic growth.

"If Congress is looking for an industry that can spur the economy and create jobs, they need look no further than travel and tourism," Donohue said. "This industry is central not only to the strength of our economy, but also to the vitality of America's culture and society, and to our national security. America is—and always has been—more prosperous, safer, and better off when we engage the world—when we reach out and welcome in."

In front of a crowd of 5,000 international travel and tourism executives at the U.S. Travel Association's International Pow Wow conference, Donohue covered five areas where government, business, and the travel and tourism industry can work to achieve economic growth and job creation.

1. Be smart about implementing the Travel Promotion Act. This legislation created a private-public partnership—without any U.S. taxpayer funds—to communicate changes to domestic travel policies and to promote America as a travel destination abroad. Oxford Economics estimates that a well-executed promotion program would attract 1.6 million new international visitors annually. The Congressional Budget Office says it will create some 40,000 American jobs—and cut the ballooning U.S. deficit by $425 million.
2. Mitigate the "hassle factor." A visitor's first experience after landing in our country needs to be improved. Security and screening procedures at airports and other transportation hubs must be necessary, effective, efficient, and always delivered with respect and goodwill.
3. Dramatically improve our infrastructure. America must have a world-class transportation system. It must hum with efficiency and create a secure and comfortable environment that travelers deserve and expect. Getting there requires planning and investment. Our great challenge is to understand the inter-connectedness of our international transportation system, and work across national boundaries to keep the network modern, well integrated, and operational—particularly in a global environment where risk is ever-present.
4. Keep America an attractive destination for business travelers and tourists by strengthening our commercial, cultural, and natural environments. Our leadership, our laws, and our markets must spell opportunity in bold letters for the entire world to see. Our nation's diversity—our many cultures and traditions drawn from across the globe—has always been our greatest strength. Anyone visiting America is, in a sense, coming home. We must always make them feel that way.
5. Remain constantly vigilant and be aggressive advocates for the travel industry. We too often hear shallow rhetoric from Washington politicians blasting business travel as nothing more than wasteful boondoggles. The fact is that domestic business travel is responsible for $240 billion in spending and 2.4 million American jobs. These attacks hurt real people in real communities across the country. They don't help create jobs or put people back to work.

The Chamber is proud to have joined the U.S. Travel Association in supporting the Travel Promotion Act. Donohue commended its passage in his speech today and noted the legislation could help facilitate an additional $4 billion in consumer spending and generate another 40,000 U.S. jobs if smartly implemented.

Noting the Chamber's recently launched American Free Enterprise. Dream Big. campaign—an effort to create 20 million jobs in America over the next decade—Donohue stressed the importance of our free enterprise system and its role in attracting foreign visitors, immigrants, and others to our shores.

Donohue's full speech is available at: /press/speeches/2010/100517traveltjd

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

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