WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), co-chairs of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo requesting information on actions the Department is taking to ensure the travel and tourism industry’s full economic recovery following the pandemic.
The Senators emphasized that the travel and tourism industry has been hit especially hard by the pandemic, writing: “Recent reports estimate that travel spending in the U.S. has declined by nearly $500 billion since 2019, with a loss of nearly one million travel-related jobs since last February. Behind statistics like this are thousands of tourism workers and restaurants, hotels, small businesses, in the travel and tourism industry struggling to make ends meet.”
The Senators also noted reports found a nearly 80 percent decrease in international visitors since the pandemic began. They also emphasized the need to provide Brand USA, a public-private partnership to encourage travelers to visit America and a “proven means to boost tourism and the U.S. economy,” with additional resources so it can assist the travel and tourism industry in its recovery.
Klobuchar has remained committed to providing support for the travel and tourism industry throughout the pandemic. In February, she and Blunt introduced the Protecting Tourism in the United States Act to improve tourism across the country by studying the effects of the pandemic on the travel and tourism industry and identifying key policy recommendations. This bipartisan legislation builds upon Klobuchar and Blunt’s efforts to support the travel and tourism industry and workforce, including securing the reauthorization of Brand USA through 2027. The program, which was established under the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act of 2009, brings in millions of additional international visitors to the U.S. each year at zero cost to taxpayers.
Full text of the letter can be found HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Raimondo,
We write to express our concern about the impact the pandemic has had on the travel and tourism industry and workforce. We also write to request additional information on what steps the U.S. Department of Commerce is taking to help ensure that these industries, their workforce, and the local communities that depend on them can recover as quickly as possible from this health and economic crisis.
Prior to the pandemic, the travel and tourism industry generated $2.6 trillion in economic activity and provided 15.8 million jobs. Recent reports estimate that travel spending in the U.S. has declined by nearly $500 billion since 2019, with a loss of nearly one million travel-related jobs since last February. Behind statistics like this are thousands of tourism workers and restaurants, hotels, small businesses, in the travel and tourism industry struggling to make ends meet.
As we work to safely reopen the country, with all adults expected to be eligible for vaccines by May, we must also evaluate the impact of the pandemic on international travel. Reports have found that we have seen a nearly 80 percent decrease in international visitors since the pandemic began, which is a critical part of the U.S. economy and workforce with international travel spending bringing in $155 billion in 2019 prior to the pandemic.
For these reasons, we introduced the bipartisan Protecting Tourism in the United States Act to direct the U.S. Department of Commerce, in consultation with the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and the heads of other relevant federal agencies, to launch a comprehensive study of the effects of the pandemic on different sectors of the travel and tourism industry and provide policy recommendations to assist these industries.
In addition, as the co-chairs of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus, we are working to ensure that programs like Brand USA—a public-private partnership to encourage travelers to visit America—which we worked to reauthorize in 2019, has the resources it needs. Brand USA is a proven means to boost tourism and the U.S. economy, bringing in 7.5 million international visitors to the U.S. annually, generating a total economic impact of $55 billion and over 52,000 jobs annually prior to the pandemic.[6] We believe it is critical to evaluate the health of this program and assist the hard-hit travel and tourism industry in its recovery.
The U.S. Department of Commerce plays a critical role in helping revive the U.S. economy, including through work on tourism policy, strategy, and advocacy. We believe that short-term and long-term resources and strategies will be key to help ensure the travel and tourism industry and workforce can recover from the pandemic and respectfully request that you respond to the following questions:
- What are the agency’s immediate and long-term plans to help the travel and tourism industry recover, particularly regarding domestic and international travel?
- Is the Department of Commerce planning to coordinate with other agencies, states, and private stakeholders to ensure that all key perspectives throughout the travel and tourism industry are considered in developing measures to help these industries recover? If so, please describe these plans.
- What data has the Department of Commerce collected on how the pandemic has affected small businesses that rely on travel and tourism, including in local and rural communities?
- Does the Department of Commerce need additional resources to promote and assist the travel and tourism industry? If so, please describe these resource needs in detail.
We look forward to working with you to bolster the recovery of the travel and tourism industry.
###
