Travel Promotion Act to hit Senate floor Sept. 8-9
Encourage Senators to support S. 1023
When the Senate reconvenes next week, S. 1023, the Travel Promotion Act, will be the first piece of legislation they consider. Your help is needed to encourage Senators to vote in favor of this important bill.
The Travel Promotion Act creates a public-private campaign to market the United States as a premier travel destination to increase the number of international visitors. This is important to restaurateurs because as much as 40 percent of annual sales for some segments of the industry are attributable to travelers, with international visitors spending more time and more money per visit than domestic travelers. International visitor arrivals to the United States have been declining while visits to other countries have been increasing.
Bill status
In June, the Travel Promotion Act was first considered on the Senate floor but a final vote on passage was not possible because of a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans over the number of amendments to be considered. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) considers this bill a high priority for his state and has scheduled debate and votes on the bill as the Senate’s first order of business.
A cloture vote is expected Sept. 8, which is a procedural vote to end debate and avoid a filibuster. It will need to garner 60 Senators’ votes in favor. If 60 or more Senators vote to end debate, a final vote could occur, possibly Sept. 8 or 9, needing a simple majority.
Requested action
Call or email your Senators today to let them know that you are counting on their support for S. 1023, the Travel Promotion Act.
Ask your Senators to:
- Vote YES on cloture, and
- Vote YES on final passage of S. 1023, the Travel Promotion Act.
A list of cosponsors of S. 1023 is available here. If your Senator is highlighted in yellow, please be sure to contact them and encourage them to vote in favor of the bill.
Below is a sample letter you can send to your Senators. The easiest way to send a letter is to submit it through your Senator’s contact form on their Web site. A list of Senators sites can be found here.
For more information, visit the National Restaurant Association’s policy Web site.
Sample letter
Dear Senator,
I encourage you to vote YES on cloture and YES on final passage of S. 1023, the Travel Promotion Act.
Overseas visitors to the United States spend an average of $4,500 per person, per trip in the United States. That’s important to restaurateurs like me because visitors account for as much as 40 percent of annual restaurant sales in some segments of the industry. They stimulate economic growth and generate new tax revenues in every state and community without placing a burden on local services.
However, unlike every other developed country in the world, the United States does not have a nationally coordinated travel promotion campaign to attract international visitors and promote America as a premier travel destination. The consequences are painfully clear:
- While international travel has boomed over the past several years, with 48 million more overseas trips booked in 2008 than in 2000, America actually lost 633,000 overseas travelers last year.
- If the United States had simply kept pace with global travel trends, the U.S. economy would have created an additional 245,000 jobs in 2008.
The Travel Promotion Act, S. 1023, creates the public-private campaign necessary to attract visitors, strengthen our nation’s economy and enhance our image in the world. The Act specifies that the campaign be paid for by private industry contributions and a $10 fee on international visitors from Visa Waiver Program countries who do not have to pay $131 to apply for a U.S. visa.
Oxford Economics, an international economic consulting firm, estimates that a well-executed promotion program, as outlined in the Travel Promotion Act, would attract 1.6 million new international visitors annually, create $4 billion in new visitor spending in the United States, generate $321 million in new federal tax revenue, and decrease the federal deficit by $245 million over 10 years.
This common-sense legislation would bring billions of dollars in new economic stimulus to the United States at no cost to the American taxpayer, and help business owners like me maintain and create more jobs.
I urge you to vote YES on S. 1023. It is time for America to get into the game and compete for international travelers as other nations do.
Sincerely,