The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“IMPORTANCE OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1281 on Feb. 27, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
IMPORTANCE OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Roth] is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, everyone is talking about how on the campaign trail people are all talking about jobs, so I would like to address this issue of jobs today in a rational and forthright way.
According to futurist John Naisbitt, three industries will drive the global economy of the 21st century. They are telecommunications, information technology, and travel, tourism.
Rarely does a nation get the chance that we have now to reassess and to restructure our public policy approach to an industry that is slated to be a force of the future. Following the recommendations of the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism which took place here in Washington last October, we now have that chance to reshape our approach and our economic future with this monumental industry.
You have heard the statistics before on travel and tourism. Did you know that travel and tourism employs 204 million people worldwide? That is almost as many people as we have living in the United States, minus California. That equals 10 percent of the global work force. One out of every 10 people around the world works in travel and tourism.
In the United States alone, travel and tourism accounts for 1 out of every 9 jobs here in America. Tourism produces $655 billion in tax revenue. More than 10 percent of all capital investment worldwide goes into travel and tourism. Maybe that is why travel and tourism is growing 23 percent faster than the world economy.
America needs a bold agenda for change, change not only in the way we do business, but in the new way that we look at the world.
Consider for a moment that the single largest global revenue producer for individuals and governments, travel and tourism, has recently been cut from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Just totally cut it out, yet it is the No. 1 industry in America for jobs.
Mr. Speaker, America needs a contingency plan. The Travel and Tourism Partnership Act is that plan. This plan allows the United States to compete globally for tourism dollars against other countries like Canada, Germany, Spain, and Australia, who are very sophisticated in this area and are taking these foreign tourists and therefore these foreign dollars from us.
Even small countries like Malaysia and Tunisia have been spending more on travel and tourism year after year than we have. Now with the closing of the USTTA, U.S. tourism promotion efforts have dropped to zero. Let me repeat that, zero dollars. Anyone who tells you that this is not going to cost American jobs is wrong, dead wrong. It is going to cost us a lot of jobs. In the next 5 years, there will be an increase, an increase, of 50 million travelers worldwide. This represents thousands upon thousands of jobs in America and billions and billions of dollars.
So when people talk to you about what is taking place on the Presidential campaign trail today, people talking about jobs, talk to them about travel and tourism, because this is where the jobs will be in the 1990's and the 21st century. This can mean tens of thousands of new jobs for American workers, but it is not going to happen if we in Congress do not have the foresight and take advantage of this remarkable opportunity.
That is why, as chairman of the 304-member Travel and Tourist Caucus, the largest in Congress, I introduced the Travel and Tourism Partnership Act. This act sets forth a complete new approach to marketing the United States as a foreign destination. Rather than just another government-run program, my bill designs a partnership between the tourism industry and the public sector, a device to carry out a more effective marketing plan so we can have jobs and dollars in this country.
This plan is vital to the United States. This is a job creating bill. Virtually all over the world, and particularly in the United States, travel and tourism is the predominant industry for jobs that our people need. With all this potential, the United States is losing its market share to travel and tourism in a growing world market. We must stop this trend.
That is why I am on the floor today, to ask you for your help, so that you can say you have done something constructive to promote jobs, private enterprise jobs, right here in America.
This act reflects the recommendation of some 1,700 sophisticated travel and tourist leaders, as well as local, State, and regional tourism officials who participated in the White House conference. By developing this partnership plan, we can create jobs here in America, keep our main streets alive, and pump new tourism dollars into our local economies. With one out of every nine American workers employed by travel and tourism, we cannot afford not to take action. Travel and tourism is the hidden giant in the U.S. economy.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for bold ideas in America, and it is time to chart a course for the future. I urge all of my colleagues to join 172 members who have already cosponsored the Travel and Tourism Partnership Act. We must act, and we must act today. Join us and get involved in this blockbuster industry of the 1990's and the 21st century.
____________________
