The Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI)
offers export assistance to American travel and tourism industry suppliers,
from communities to individual establishments, through consultations
using market analysis and intelligence. Working in conjunction with
the promotional efforts of the Commercial Service officers nationwide
and around the globe, these services offer in-depth market conditions
and industry knowledge to position a specific market to expand this
vital export, encouraging more international travelers to visit the
U.S.
The focus of export assistance is outreach is carried out through
the tourism trade specialists and research analysts at OTTI. Outreach
involves a concerted effort with convention and visitor bureaus to
reach communities, trade associations to reach industry players, state
tourism offices, and other federal agencies involved in tourism-related
activities or products. A key partner in the effectiveness of our
export assistance efforts is the Commercial Service, both domestic
and foreign, in the International Trade Administration. This covers
over 100 export assistance offices throughout the U.S., and over 150
foreign commercial service offices in more than 80 countries throughout
the world.
As many federal agencies have a purview over tourism-related issues,
the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries is committed to a federal
team-oriented approach to create a more diversified and seamless force
to assist industry. Along with the U.S. Commercial Service, OTTI organized
and hosted the interagency Travel and Tourism Team Training with the
Department of Commerce and nine other federal agencies with organizational
goals promoting and facilitating tourism to the U.S. The goal of the
meeting was to enhance program awareness and learn how to achieve
mutual goals; to develop plans of action to coordinate communication,
training, and trade events; and to forge productive federal partnerships
in support of the U.S. travel and tourism industry. There are projects
currently in play with, for example, the Departments of State, Interior,
Homeland Security, and Transportation. |