The travel and tourism industry received a hard won and well deserved victory this month when President Obama signed the Travel Promotion Act into law, enacting the first ever nonprofit, nationally coordinated travel program. The bill is estimated to drive $4 billion in new consumer spending annually, provide $321 million in new federal tax revenue each year and create 40,000 U.S. jobs nationwide. With no cost to the American taxpayer, it is funded by a $10 visa waiver fee and matching private industry funds. This program will provide tremendous benefits for Texas helping us to promote our state internationally and attract new visitors.
It is an overdue victory and one that means a great deal to Texas Tourism. However, it is a bittersweet victory for TTIA. Our members have invested a lot in the Travel Promotion Act. Despite staff and member advocacy efforts including phone calls and personal visits with our Texas Delegation in D.C., neither Senator John Cornyn nor Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison voted for the Travel Promotion Act. The passage of this bill comes with the realization that as an association and an industry, we have much work to do to communicate the value and importance of our industry to our political leaders.
Since all politics are local, a call from you, the constituent, can often make the difference. I encourage all TTIA members to become actively involved in our advocacy efforts. The first step is to subscribe to our legislative updates and alerts by email. To become involved, please call Courtney at the TTIA office or email her at courtneyg@ttia.org.
If you have any questions about the Travel Promotion Act or any other legislative issue, please don’t hesitate to call me.
David Teel President/CEO Texas Travel Industry Association
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