US Senate Committee approves travel promotion act

This summer so far has seen a fair bit of negative press emerge regarding travel to the United States. New York’s airports were heavily criticized for their inefficiency and the US has seen a significant drop-off in foreign visitors due to stories of mistreatment upon arrival at a number of the nation’s airports.

Now, S. 1661 has been approved by the United States Senate Committee as the ‘Travel Promotion Act of 2007’. This act has been put in place to acknowledge the necessity of making more efficient airport and visa procedures to encourage and facilitate tourism to the country.

‘These Senators and others demonstrated great leadership today in recognizing the need for the federal government and the private sector to work together to promote international travel to this nation in order to advance our public diplomacy goals and grow our economy by welcoming more international guests,’ said the chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels and chairman of the Travel Business roundtable, Jonathan M. Tisch.

Jay Rasulo, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts was equally enthusiastic, saying, ‘This program would fill a vital gap in our current strategies to attract more visitors, and it would pay for itself many times over. It will also serve a larger national purpose, by helping America win hearts and minds around the world.’