President Obama signs Travel Promotion Act

On March 4th, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the first-ever national travel promotion and communications program to attract more international travelers to the U.S. The Travel Promotion Act, as it is known is in response to evidence that the U.S. is losing ground to other countries in the global travel market, according to USTA.

Even before the downturn of the worldwide economy, according to the USTA, the U.S. welcomed 2.4 million fewer overseas visitors in 2009 than in 2000, and the failure to simply keep pace with the growth in international long-haul travel since 2000 has cost the U.S. economy an estimated $509 billion in total spending and $32 billion in direct tax receipts.

Supporters of The Travel Promotion Act hope that by creating a campaign to promote the United States as a premier destination and explain changing travel security policies to foreign visitors will in turn lead to greater numbers of visits to the United States by overseas travelers.

Oxford Economics estimates that a successful national promotion will yield $4 billion in new spending annually, create 40,000 new jobs and generate $321 million in new tax revenue each year. The Congressional Budget Office reported that the Travel Promotion Act would reduce the federal deficit by $425 million over 10 years.

The initiative will be funded through a matching program featuring up to $100 million in private sector contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers who do not pay $131 for a visa to enter the United States. The fee will be collected once every two years in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization. No money is provided by U.S. taxpayers.