You are here

NEWS: Senate Passage of Travel Promotion Act A Major Victory for Hospitality Industry

February 26, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 26, 2010
CONTACT:  Sue Hensley (202) 331-5964 shensley@restaurant.org or Maureen Ryan (202) 331-5939 mryan@restaurant.org

National Restaurant Association on Twitter and Facebook.

Senate Passage of Travel Promotion Act A Major Victory for Hospitality Industry

                     
(Washington, D.C.) – The National Restaurant Association today commended the U.S. Senate for successfully passing the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act, S. 1023, which will provide resources to promote international travel to the United States. The bill is expected to be signed by President Obama next week.
 
"The passage of this legislation has been a longstanding priority for our industry and we view this vote as a major accomplishment for the entire hospitality industry. We are pleased that members of the House and Senate saw this as a priority and worked together in a bipartisan manner to pass the Travel Promotion Act," said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs for the Association.
 
"Restaurateurs depend on travelers, with some segments of the industry attributing as much as 40 percent of annual sales to visitors," said DeFife. "The Travel Promotion act will encourage more international travel and can boost restaurants’ performance, which will spur job growth and help grow the economy."
 
The Travel Promotion Act creates a public-private partnership campaign to aggressively market the U.S. as a premier travel destination overseas, with the goal of increasing the number of international visitors into the country. The National Restaurant Association has long supported legislation to help attract more international visitors and establish the United States as a travel destination. Roughly half of all travelers report that they dine out when they travel, and dining out is the most popular activity planned after tourists arrive at a destination.

Earlier this week, the National Restaurant Association sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate calling for quick passage of the bill. The full text of the letter to the Senate can be found here.

                                                                                                                 ###