Travel industry leaders met with President Obama last week to discuss the unique role that travel can play in strengthening the American economy. The meeting focused on two critical areas: the need to welcome more international visitors and the business community's concerns about the dramatic nationwide downturn in meetings and events.

In the meeting, industry leaders discussed the urgent need to pass the Travel Promotion Act, which would establish the first-ever U.S. promotion and communications campaign to attract millions of additional international visitors to the United States annually and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

Participants also discussed the need to maximize the benefits of business meetings and events, which generate more than $100 billion in spending and create more than one million jobs that are the lifeblood of local communities across the country.

Since California has the largest economy in the U.S., with $36 billion in business travel revenues, we could be one of the most impacted states if our meetings and events industry declines over the long term. California companies who for economic or PR reasons are considering cancelling
their meetings outside of the state can instead support California’s economy by hosting their meetings locally or in another region of California, thereby saving on travel and supporting jobs at home.

Informed people can halt dangerous political rhetoric and take action quickly to keep the meetings industry healthy. Just log on to the U.S. Travel Association’s meetingsmeanbusiness.com site, where you can write your officials, sign the travel industry’s petition and utilize a variety of resources to educate others about the value of meetings and events to communities around the country.

Regards,

Susan Wilcox
Vice President of Communications

Amanda Moreland
Media Relations Manager