Department of Commerce Recruiting Industry Experts to Serve on New Travel and Tourism Promotion Board

Board to Help Boost Trillion-Dollar Travel and Tourism Sector

The Commerce Department is recruiting leaders in the travel and tourism industry to serve on the newly created Corporation for Travel Promotion Board. The 11-member board, created as part of the Travel Promotion Act (TPA) signed by President Obama in March, will develop and execute a plan to help boost travel to the U.S., create jobs and grow the economy.

“We are excited to begin the recruitment process for the board of directors,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said, “By attracting more international travelers to the U.S., we will create jobs in America, strengthen our economy and help our travel and tourism industry thrive.”

The travel and tourism industry is a $1.25 trillion sector of the U.S. economy, supporting 8.2 million U.S. jobs and accounting for 8 percent of all U.S. exports.

The Travel Promotion Act established the Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP), a non-profit entity, to promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel to the United States, as well as enhance communications of United States entry policies. The CTP is charged with assisting the travel and tourism’s sector’s economic recovery. Spending by international travelers declined to $121 billion in 2009 from a record $142 billion in 2008.

The CTP, appointed by Secretary Locke, will be governed by an 11-member board of directors with knowledge of international travel promotion and marketing and with appropriate expertise and experience in specific sectors of the travel and tourism industry. These members will broadly represent various regions of the United States.

The Travel Promotion Act states that the Corporation shall develop and execute a plan to (a) provide useful information to those interested in traveling to the United States; (b) identify and address perceptions regarding U.S. entry policies; (c) maximize economic and diplomatic benefits of travel to the United States through the use of various promotional tools; and (d) ensure that international travel benefits all States, the District of Columbia, and the territories and identify opportunities to promote tourism to rural and urban areas equally, including areas not traditionally visited by international travelers.

The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration will assist the Secretary of Commerce in overseeing the Corporation.

The recruitment notice is available through the Federal Register here.