Immigration Law

TRAVEL INDUSTRY PUSHES TO GET INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ISSUES IN TO PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

By Greg Siskind

Let's hope they're successful in their new campaign. The TIA also released findings of a poll of voters in the upcoming primary states of South Carolina and Florida. From the Travel Industry Association:

"We've hit a tipping point," said Roger Dow, President and CEO of the TIA.  "Voters believe that government can do far more to improve the travel system and they are looking for a candidate who realizes that they too have a schedule to keep."

The first stop on the "Change the Debate" campaign is South Carolina where billboards are running in Myrtle Beach and Columbia and travel industry leaders are on the ground for tonight's Republican debate to discuss the critical contribution travel makes to the U.S. economy.  Looking ahead, TIA will be working with more than 400 convention and visitor bureaus across the country to highlight an American travel system that is in crisis and in need of national leadership. 

"Outdated tracking systems, delays and congestion combined with a 17 percent decline in overseas visitation to the United States since 9/11 have taken their toll on the American traveler, the economy and the U.S. image abroad," Dow said. "We're taking our campaign on the road to make sure the candidates know that improving the travel process is both good policy and good politics."

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on January 11, 2008 (boomark / email).