House passes Travel Promotion Act

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Travel Promotion Act (H.R. 1035), sending this top industry legislative priority back to the Senate for one last vote.

The 358-66 House vote came about with the encouragement of Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and the leadership of House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who added the legislation to the House’s suspension calendar, a procedure used to fast-track bills to full House votes.

The bill now goes back to the Senate, which passed an earlier version (S. 1023) of the Travel Promotion Act (TPA) in early September. The Senate version of the bill ran into a procedural snag in the House, causing the legislation to be added to a rapidly-moving House bill early this week. This means that the bill will now face a second Senate vote. If the Senate once again votes to pass this valuable legislation, the bill would then finally head to President Barack Obama’s desk.

“Recent votes by Congress on the Travel Promotion Act firmly demonstrate that our lawmakers recognize that the U.S. travel and hospitality industries create jobs,” said AH&LA president and CEO Joseph A. McInerney. “This bill is great news for America. After the next Senate vote and President Obama has an opportunity to sign the bill, the wheels will be in motion to start aggressively promoting our nation to international visitors, and fuel up the economic engine of tourism. For the past several years, members of AH&LA along with the lodging and travel industries have worked tirelessly to pass this bill. Today’s achievement is a significant milestone for the American hospitality industry.”

McInerney added: “The industry is grateful for the work done by Representatives William Delahunt, Roy Blunt, and Shelley Berkley. Their tireless work to urge their House colleagues to support this version of the Travel Promotion Act was invaluable.”

Tourism to the U.S. declined after the September 2001 attacks, costing American businesses $140 billion in lost spending and the absence of 46 million potential international visitors. The decline in tourism also cost the government $23 billion in lost tax receipts.

This lodging industry initiative is considered a significant step that will help boost a weakened American economy by increasing tourism. This bill will create thousands of new jobs and bring billions of dollars of additional revenue into the country through new international visitors. It will promote the US to overseas visitors and better explain entry policies, encouraging and aiding visitors.

Once the Travel Promotion Act becomes federal law, this legislation promises to reverse this decline and deliver more visitors, jobs, and revenue to hotels and lodges across America.