Tourism

Carnahan Helps Cut Ribbon Today for River City Casino Boulevard As Part of District-Wide "Jobs Tour"

November 10, 2009 -- ST. LOUIS - Congressman Russ Carnahan (MO-3) helped cut the ribbon for a new access road in South St. Louis County today, hailing it as a critical step to bring thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars in economic development to the region.

Carnahan, who was joined at the ribbon cutting by County Executive Charlie Dooley, County Councilman Steve Stenger and others, participated in the event as part of a district-wide "Jobs Tour." Carnahan is traveling throughout Missouri's Third Congressional District today, highlighting the progress being made to help stimulate economic development and put Americans back to work.    » read more »

Clean Energy Partnership, Export Opportunities

November 3, 2009 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has concluded a successful round of meetings in Beijing as part of the Administration’s ongoing strategic effort to strengthen the state’s long-term economy by promoting Hawaii as a visitor destination to China’s growing outbound tourism market, developing export opportunities for Hawaii products and services and forming partnerships in clean energy.

Beijing was the first stop on the Governor’s six-city tour to promote economic development opportunities for Hawaii with one of the world’s most important emerging economies. Pictures are available at www.hawaii.gov/gov or by request.

Encouraging Chinese Tourism    » read more »

October 8, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47) submitted the following statement for the record regarding the Travel Promotion Act. When enacted, the bill will help promote tourism in Orange County by educating foreign visitors about U.S. travel requirements:

"Madame Speaker,

"I rise in support of S. 1023 the Travel Promotion Act, and the underlying bill, H.R. 1035, the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Amendments Act of 2009.

"The Travel Promotion Act would help establish an independent non-profit corporation that would provide and maintain useful tourist information. Most importantly, this bill will further educate potential tourists abroad about the U.S. entry policies.    » read more »

Legislation Would Create Public-Private Partnership to Encourage Global Travel to the United States

(Washington, DC) – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure co-sponsored by Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24) to promote America as a top travel destination and increase tourism from overseas. The Travel Promotion Act will bring the public and private sectors together to coordinate a national effort to encourage global travel to the United States.

The bill – which requires no taxpayer money – is estimated to attract 1.6 million new international visitors to the country and 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.    » read more »

October 7, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) – Breaking through years of delay, Congressman Alan Grayson has gotten Congress to pass the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (S. 1023), and send it to the President for his signature. The bill passed this evening.

The Travel Promotion Act will establish a non-profit corporation to promote travel to the United States. The bill gives the new organization $200 million a year in public and private funding, all to promote travel.    » read more »

Bipartisan Initiative Creates Jobs and Enhances US Image Abroad

October 7, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Legislation championed by U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt to promote international travel to the United States has cleared its final hurdle in the U.S. House of Representatives today.

“The Travel Promotion Act will not only boost travel and create jobs in the tourism industry, it will enhance America’s image around the world,” Delahunt said. “Over the past eight years, the United States’ share of the world travel market has decreased by nearly 20 percent, costing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue. We need to reverse that trend and create more jobs here at home.”    » read more »

Tax Credits for Alaska Tourism Marketing

October 6, 2009, Fairbanks, Alaska – Noting how hard-hit Alaska’s travel industry has been by the recession, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell today announced support for corporate income tax credits to incentivize greater Alaska tourism marketing. The income tax credits will go to seaside operators, or cruise lines, that contribute to the general Alaska marketing program implemented by the Alaska Travel Industry Association on behalf of the state.

“Our travel industry faces serious challenges,” Governor Parnell said. “To lure visitors to Alaska, we have to be able to compete through top-notch marketing of Alaska’s wonders. The tax credit can provide a consistent source of dollars to pay for that marketing.”    » read more »

Introduces legislation mandating airline carrier disclosure on travel websites; Legislation will require online travel websites to alert passengers if the tickets are for regional airline carriers

June 23, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer introduced new legislation requiring online travel websites to notify customers, on the first page after they enter in a search for airline tickets, as to what carriers will be running their flight. Some travel websites already provide this information to customers when they book online, but many do not.    » read more »

FORT WORTH, Texas -- FORT WORTH, Texas, May 28 -- Summer is fast approaching, so American Airlines and American Eagle, its regional affiliate, are reminding customers about the box and bag embargo on flights to certain destinations from June 6 through Aug. 25, 2009.

"American's intent is to provide the best customer service possible and to consider the needs of all passengers," said Peter Dolara, American's Senior Vice President - Mexico, Caribbean and Latin America. "There are limitations on the amount of baggage that can be carried, both in the cabin and cargo areas, based on the size of aircraft."    » read more »

May 14, 2009 - The number of scheduled domestic and international passengers on U.S. airlines in February 2009 declined by 11.8 percent from February 2008, dropping by 6.7 million to 49.8 million in the largest decrease from the same month of the previous year since December 2001, the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported .

February was the 12th consecutive month with a decrease in passengers from 2008, dropping the number of scheduled airline passengers to the lowest total since January 2004.    » read more »

5/12/2009 -- Raleigh -- North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue announced today that domestic visitors to and within North Carolina spent a record $16.9 billion in 2008, an increase of 2.1 percent from 2007 and higher than the previous record of $16.5 billion, set in 2007.

The visitor spending figures are the preliminary results of an annual study conducted by the U.S. Travel Association for the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Tourism, Film, and Sports Development. The study uses sales and tax revenue data and employment figures to determine the overall impact of visitor spending in North Carolina.    » read more »

May 11, 2009 -- Summer vacationers can save money and lower their contribution to global warming at the same time, thanks to a travel transportation guide from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

"A summer vacation can be relatively inexpensive and 'green' if you know what to look for," said Jim Kliesch, a UCS senior engineer and primary author of the guide. "We've found that with a little bit of planning, consumers can save money with tips that save the planet, too."    » read more »

January 22, 2009 -- As spring and summer breaks approach, many students are getting ready for a trip abroad. The following information will help students plan a safe and enjoyable adventure.

First, a note about U.S. passports: As of January 23, 2007, everyone traveling in and out of the United States by air needs a passport. We encourage students to apply now. Processing times are traditionally faster in February.    » read more »

Hainan Airlines now offering the only non-stop flight between the Northwest and China

June 9, 2008 -- SEA-TAC – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire today helped greet passengers arriving on Hainan Airlines’ new direct passenger flight between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Beijing, and proclaimed today, “Hainan Airlines’ Day,” in Washington.

Hainan’s new flight is the first non-stop commercial flight between the Washington state and China since 1997. “This new direct flight is great economic news for Washington,” Gregoire stated during the celebration. “It comes at a time when other parts of the nation are facing a struggling economy, and airlines are being impacted by high fuel prices and even consolidating or limiting existing flights.”    » read more »

Date for Meeting Goal Moved Up to 2012 from 2015 after Unprecedented Tourism Gains

June 3, 2008 -- New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that New York City is on track to achieve its goal of attracting 50 million annual visitors three years earlier than anticipated.

Manhattan, New York City: Photo by Kevin Labianco (CC)

Since Mayor Bloomberg set the goal of ’50 by 15’ in 2006, New York City has welcomed more visitors than anticipated, including a record 46 million in 2007.    » read more »