Tourism Policy

Tourism Policy

The Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI) plays an active role in domestic and international policy issues as they relate to the U.S. travel and tourism industry. From a domestic policy perspective, OTTI serves as the Secretariat for the Tourism Policy Council. The Tourism Policy Council (TPC) is an interagency committee established by law for the purpose of ensuring that the nation’s tourism interests are considered in Federal decision-making. Its major function is to coordinate national policies and programs relating to international travel and tourism, recreation, and national heritage resources that involve Federal Agencies. The TPC, originally established in 1981, was reauthorized by the U.S. National Tourism Organization Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 2124) and began to hold meetings from that point moving forward.

Today, within the Federal Government, there is a renewed sense of the importance of the travel and tourism industry to the U.S. economy. With the expanded charter of the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board to submit a national tourism strategy for the United States to the Department of Commerce Secretary, Carlos M. Gutierrez, the Tourism Policy Council is deemed to be the center for assessing the recommendations and implementation. The Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, Albert Frink, chairs the Council on behalf of the Secretary. Representatives from 17 Federal Agencies and Departments are identified as members and formally invited to participate.

OTTI participates in the activities of global tourism development in multiple international intergovernmental organizations. Serving as the National Tourism Office for the U.S. Government, OTTI is the representative to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Working Group. The APEC Tourism Working Group promotes sustainable economic development through tourism and encourages investment and development throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The APEC Tourism Charter reflects a commitment to improve the economic, cultural, social, and environmental well being of APEC-member economies through tourism (www.apec.org).

OTTI is also the U.S. Government representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Tourism Committee. The OECD Tourism Committee serves as a forum of exchange for monitoring policies and structural changes affecting the development of international tourism. The Committee promotes sustainable economic growth through tourism initiatives. The Committee serves to further statistical policy through its working group, in which the U.S. participates. Tourism is an important economic activity and issue of public policy in the majority of OECD-member nations (www.oecd.org).

• Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) Changes That Impact Travel and Tourism