Senate Passes New Bipartisan Travel Promotion Act
I read somewhere recently that travel is the largest economic stimulus in the world. Evidently, world-wide dollars spent on travel dwarf any other measurable economic impact.
In an effort to create a national campaign to tap into these massive dollars, our Washington representatives have put forth the Travel Promotion Act for President Obama to sign.
From the US Travel Association:
“The Travel Promotion Act creates the Corporation for Travel Promotion, modeled after successful programs in U.S. states and other developed nations, with the mission of attracting more visitors to the United States. The initiative is funded through a matching program featuring up to $100 million in private sector contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers who do not pay $131 for a visa to enter the United States. The fee will be collected once every two years in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization. No money is provided by U.S. taxpayers.”
From Steve Moore, President & CEO, Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau:
“The Travel Promotion Act is a significant step in the right direction for our national and local economies. This new program will bring critical international tourist dollars to our hotels, attractions, restaurants and transportation providers… and all of the 160,000 men and women whose jobs depend on travel in the Phoenix area.”
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. What are your thoughts about this new government agency?
I read the same article in last Saturday's paper. In Terravita, more than 12 percent of the golf members are Canadian, which is the second largest group of snowbirds after folks from Minnesota. In fact, Canadians are a large part of our real estate economy in Arizona. Read more about how more than 10 percent of the owners at Corriente Residences in Scottsdale are Canadian:
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/03/02/canadi…
Jeanne,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comments!
Certainly if there are so many Canadians buying in Arizona, there must be a much larger percentage of Canadians who are traveling to Arizona, and spending their Canadian dollars.
American travel, and American real estate has been on the cheap with our weak dollar of late.