Bush administration asked to help lure foreign tourists to United States

Wednesday, May 2, 2001 | 11:10 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON -- Concerned that the United States has fallen behind in international tourism, travel executives and politicians lobbied for a federal advisory committee to promote the U.S. travel industry at a meeting with White House officials.

Members of the Travel Business Roundtable -- about 60 chief executives of travel and tourism companies and associations -- called for the creation of a Presidential Advisory Council on Travel and Tourism.

The council would be responsible for influencing travel-related government policies as well as promoting and marketing the United States as an international destination.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said 130 nations have national government-sponsored tourism offices, but not the United States, even though 28 states count tourism among their top three industries. Tourism employs 300,000 Nevadans on a $5.5 billion payroll, Reid said.

"A coordinated national tourism policy will help create jobs in Nevada and across the country, as well as promote and strengthen tourism throughout the United States," Reid said.

Lawmakers urged President Bush to establish the council with an executive order. Ultimately, the council would recommend policy shifts that would promote the United States worldwide as a tourist destination.

"We're losing market share" of international visitors, said Jonathan Tisch, chairman of the Travel Business Roundtable. "Many of the countries we compete with consider travel and tourism an essential part of the economy. Our industry has never been regarded in that manner."

The United States has fallen from being the No. 1 travel destination in the world to the third-most-visited after France and Spain, Tisch says.

The roundtable also is recommending that the government: