“In one bold step, we are boosting the economy while enhancing America’s image abroad,” Delahunt said after attending a bill signing ceremony with the President at the White House. “This will give a much needed shot in the arm to the economy on the South Shore and the Cape and Islands, since overseas visitors play a vital role in the health of our region’s travel and tourism industry."
The new law will attract as many as 1.6 million additional travelers to the U.S. each year and generate $4 billion in new spending annually, according to an analysis by Oxford Economics.
In Massachusetts, this translates into as much as $12 million in new tax revenue and 663 new jobs, according to the data. Overseas visitors to the United States spend an average of $4,500 per person/per visit- staying at our hotels, eating at our restaurants, and enjoying the beauty of our national parks. Tourism is the fifth largest industry in Massachusetts, generating $11 billion in sales and providing nearly 14 percent of the state’s total private sector employment.
Nearly every developed nation in the world has a travel promotion program as a tool for economic development. Nations such as Australia, Greece, Mexico and Malaysia spend more than $110 million annually competing for visitors. The United Kingdom and Turkey spend more than $80 million annually; Canada spends more than $60 million each year. While 633,000 fewer overseas travelers visited the United States in 2008 than in 2000, other countries welcomed more international visitors. Over the same period, international visitation to the United Kingdom increased by 24 percent, Australia is up 18 percent and Mexico is up 8 percent. These nations are competing with the United States for international visitors, and are winning. The United States is one of the few developed countries in that does not have a nationally coordinated campaign.
The Travel Promotion Act establishes a public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier international travel destination. The legislation calls for travel promotion to be paid for by private sector contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers who enter the United States under the auspices of the visa waiver program. The bill - which requires no money from the American taxpayer - is to add $4 billion to the U.S. economy. An analysis by the U.S. Travel Association reveals that this program would create nearly 40,000 new American jobs.
This also establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion, an independent, non-profit corporation governed by an 11-member board of private-sector directors appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.
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