Agents Urged to Join Grassroots Lobbying Efforts

by Nick Verrastro

May 31, 2012

Members of Congress are looking to grassroots travel agents to speak up in support of the travel industry.

That was the theme of messages from Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) speaking to industry members at the Grassroots Congressional Travel Summit in Washington, D.C., in early May.

Travel agents should push their representatives and senators to join the bipartisan Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus (CTTC), said Farr, co-chair of the caucus with Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.).

The caucus is looking for support from across Congress for issues that are critical to the travel industry, including travel sellers.

Agents can create ‘buzz’
Travel agents also can help get the VISIT USA Act passed by Congress, Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, (D-Hawaii) told Travel Market Report.

Hirono’s measure, House Bill 3341, would ease the visa process for visitors to the U.S., especially those from key markets of China and Brazil, she said.

“Agents can help by contacting their representatives to create a buzz for this bill,” she said.

Chinese travel market
“Fifteen million Chinese are traveling every year, but there are only five U.S. consulates in China for visa clearance,” she said. “We make it too difficult for them to come to the U.S.”

Her bill would allow Chinese visitors to apply for five-year, multiple entry visas and set up a videoconference pilot program to conduct visa interviews, among other provisions.

More accurate info
Farr, who has been involved with the Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus for years, noted that travel is “finally getting the recognition” it deserves for its economic impact.

Travel and tourism’s job-creating power has caught the attention of lawmakers from both parties, he noted.

Farr attributes this newfound appreciation to more accurate measurements of the economic activity that travel creates.

As Farr noted, “Obama is the first president to actually develop a national travel and tourism strategy.” That strategy was announced during the Travel Summit. (See “White House Launches National Tourism Strategy, an Historic First,” May 10, 2012.)

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TRAVEL’s IMPACT REVERBERATES

Inbound travel’s positive impact on a destination’s economy reverberates far beyond the jobs and revenues it creates directly, and the travel industry needs to continue to drive home that positive message in Washington.

The effects of travel and tourism are “so far-reaching that they stimulate many other areas of the economy,” said Oregon state travel director Todd Davidson, speaking at the Travel Summit in Washington, D.C. “We have to tell and retell the story of that impact on economic development.”

Helps U.S. products
When travel and tourism “introduces America to people from all over the world,” it increases their likelihood of buying U.S.-made products, explained Davidson, who chairs the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, which advises the Obama Administration on travel policy.

Travel inculcates an affinity among visitors for this country, who become more open to U.S. products and culture and who then talk about their positive experiences to friends and family back home, he said.

“Then we have really tapped into the potential of the travel industry.”

Oregon’s experience
Visitors to Oregon have been seen to increase their purchases of Oregon-made products after they return home, Davidson said.

He cited a survey in which 43% of visitors said they were more likely to purchase products from the Beaver State and were using those products to introduce their friends and family to Oregon.

People trust suggestions and references from their friends more than they do any destination advertising.

“There is power in this,” said Davidson, explaining his own excitement when he sees Oregon vintages on wine lists around the globe.

Impact on business
Positive travel experiences can also influence corporations in their choice of locations for their businesses. Travel experiences even influences banks’ lending decisions, said Davidson.