Travel Industry Sees Revival in Near Future

Posted on July 13th, 2010 by

With the economic decline the country has been experiencing in recent years, the multi-billion-dollar travel industry has suffered major losses. According to the U.S. Travel Association, during the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years, the travel industry lost more than 400,000 jobs and had approximately 41 million Americans cancel their travel plans annually. Also, Commerce Department figures show that 633,000 fewer overseas travelers chose the U.S. as a destination in 2008 than in 2000.

However, experts are saying that things may be looking up for the travel industry thanks to a helping hand from Congress. In March, President Barack Obama signed the Travel Promotion Act, which formed the National Tourism Board. The board’s main objective is to coordinate advertising and drum up interest abroad in traveling to the U.S. as well as streamline visa applications for overseas travelers. This program is expected to attract more than 1.6 million visitors from around the world, which means bringing in more than $4 billion in additional consumer spending. Furthermore, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts the act will create at least 40,000 jobs in the U.S., thus helping cut the federal deficit by $425 million during the next decade.

Formerly a fragmented industry, the many parts of the travel industry now more than ever must work together rather than compete with each other to accommodate travelers. Hotels, airports, car rental companies, and even restaurants and shops should work with each other and complement each other to create smooth and well-rounded travel experiences for visitors. It seems the industry has already begun to enact these collaborations, as projections from the U.S. Travel Association show leisure travel increasing 2% and international inbound travel increasing by almost 3%. Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, expresses what many people may have only now begun to realize: “Travel and tourism aren’t just fun things to do. They’re the lifeblood of the economy.”

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New Head of U.S. Travel Association

Posted on April 27th, 2010 by

Steven Joyce, CEO of Choice Hotels International, will be the new national chairman of the U.S. Travel Association. After 2 years as vice chair, it is his turn to shine! He will serve in this role for two years.

In planning his goals for the association, Joyce cites “relevance, significance and impact.” He hopes to inspire businesses and individuals alike to get out and about more often.

The U.S. Travel Association is a 2,100 member organzation designed to connect, promote, and advocate for travel to cities throughout the country.

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No Volcanos in Illinois…. Phew

Posted on April 27th, 2010 by

The fiasco may be coming to a close, but the travel industry will feel the impact of the Icelandic volcano for quite some time. In Chicago, plenty of Europeans were stranded, and our residents had to cancel business trips and vacations.

With $200 million lost each day to the airlines, and over 750,000 passengers affected, we have to be grateful for the occassional snowstorm that shuts down O’Hare and Midway.

So the next time you deal with a stranded traveler, remember that it could be worse…

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The Travel Promotion Act

Posted on April 7th, 2010 by

In February of this year, the U.S. Senate and President Obama approved the Travel Promotion Act to help boost international travel to the U.S. That means more clientele for all of us!

This new marketing budget aims to attract 1.6 million new international visitors, estimated to spend about $4 billion while they are here. In addition to feeding our own coffers, it also would kick in about $321 million in new federal tax revenue at no cost to the American taxpayer.

Everyone knows that times have been tough for travel and hospitality professionals. Let’s hope this helps turn things around. Chicago has more than ever to offer our international guests, so freshen up your foreign language skills and fly your international flags high!

More on the Travel Promotion Act

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Responsibly Held Corporate Travel & Meetings=Travel Industry Jobs

Posted on February 18th, 2010 by

Speaking of efforts by the U.S. Travel Association to invigorate corporate travel, Roger Dow, President & CEO of the U.S. Travel Association kicked off the 2010 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism, his emphasis on working with elected officials to help them differentiate between budget-abusing corporate travel and legitimate business expenses.

In effect, there’s a difference between a publicly funded company holding a luxurious travel junket and AT&T getting their salespeople together to both incent them and train them on new products.

Says Dow, “If you look at [the travel] industry, we’re like the drama club. We put on good shows, everybody applauds, and we should be, but we have to become the football team.”

So, he said, the U.S. Travel Association went all out to counter the perception that all corporate travel is wrong-headed; they ran an ad: ‘Want to lose one million more jobs? Just keep talking.’ And pointed out to politicians all the way up to President Barack Obama that many of the resorts and convention centers in their own regions of the country were being affected; Dow said this resulted in a more reasonable policy toward corporate travel and offered some points to back it up.

(more…)

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