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StumbleObama signs tourism promotion bill into law
Thursday, March 4, 2010 | 12:19 p.m.
President Barack Obama signs the tourism bill.
Sun Coverage
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama today signed a long-pushed bill to establish a national tourism promotion agency that would market the United States to visitors from abroad.
Obama said there is no better country to visit than the United States as he signed the bill in the Oval Office, flanked by lawmakers from Nevada and other tourism states.
The bill enjoyed bipartisan support and has been pushed since the country experienced a precipitous decline in overseas visitors after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The travel industry estimates that more than 600,000 fewer overseas visitors are coming to the country, contributing to economic losses in Las Vegas and other tourist-dependent economies.
The bill is expected to create 40,000 jobs nationwide in the first year.
Obama thanked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid by name for ushering the bill to passage. The bill’s passage will provide another victory for Reid heading into a difficult re-election this fall.
Also at the ceremony were Nevada’s Democratic Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus, and Republican Sen. John Ensign.
The bill would assess a $10 per person visa fee on visitors to fund the new agency. The agency would receive $10 million in start-up costs for the first year, but eventually would be required to match government funds dollar per dollar. The bill also establishes a new office of travel promotion within the Commerce Department.
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Now, THAT is a GOOD DEAL for Las Vegas.
THANKS HARRY!
YEAH!
Thank you Harry for a good job on this bill!
Did Harry put in a clause to keep tourists out of D.C. during the summer so he won't have to smell them?
Well look who came out of the woodwork? John Ensign. He said on his favorite AM hate talk station this morning that it was Byran Dorgan who helped the bill through, not his "friend Harry."
I thought government can't do anything right John?
It is part of the problem, not part of the solution?
I thought the "private sector was better?
You mean the government can do a better job of promoting tourism internationally than the private sector?
You mean the private sector does not know how to market and advertise? I thought that was the one thing we can still do?
Oh well, your dinner is getting cold. Time to call home. You can't make it? By the way what ever happened to what's her name? Cindy Hampton? Is she all right?
So, tax money for multi-billion dollar hospitality companies, but nothing for Nevada's hapless hobos who are unemployed? Guess we know who your constituents are.
.. see you at the airport? Traveling alone??
So you want a $10 tax (it is a tax, not a fee John) on all the poor visitors to America. I thought you were against tax and spend and government?
Now that the world is in an economic recession this should do wonders to help our local economy. Hopefully when these people visit LV they'll want to buy a few homes as well.
I disagree with the concept of a government agency in the tourism business. Will they market Orlando more than Vegas? Who makes the decision? The ticket price increase will be noted by travelers. I for one note the high British taxes for flying into London and instead fly to the continent.
Let the Hospitality companies decide how they want to market and how much to spend.
Also get more industries out to Vegas.
this is good news for Vegas no matter who pushed it through. Keep up the good work Obama administration!
Stupid. Why do we need ANOTHER group of over compensated people in DC to promote travel to US? 40,000 jobs? (That's almost 75% of total MGM MIRAGE workforce) Prove it after a year and what will they actually do and how will their performance be judged? Anyone who thinks this is a good idea should be the last one to open their mouth when other countries start adding on this tax (I mean fee) to their tickets.
This was a feel good story until the words "John" and "Ensign" spoiled the narrative.
VEGASRR:
YOU ARE EXACTLY ON THE MONEY.
MORE SOCIALISTIC CRAP-OLA THAT CREATES MORE GOVERNMENT 'MAKE-WORK' JOBS FOR THE 'POLITICALLY CONNECTED'
$5 BUCKS SAYS THE STAFFERS FOR THIS USELESS PROGRAM COME FROM CHICAGO.......
HEY STEVE WYNN,
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY NOW OBAMA BASHER?
Is this the same guy that said don't waste your money in Vegas????? Man speak and sign with forked tongue.
State budget solution: Charge Wizard of Oz five cents for every time he posts the expression "socialist crap-ola." Would you like some cheese with that whine??
mred - "So you want a $10 tax (it is a tax, not a fee John) on all the poor visitors"
When the primary purpose of an enactment is to raise revenue, it is a tax.
When the primary purpose of an enactment is to offset the cost of providing a service, it is a fee.
"When the primary purpose of an enactment is to raise revenue, it is a tax.
When the primary purpose of an enactment is to offset the cost of providing a service, it is a fee."
Ok....let's take that one step at a time.
They are going to create government to tell foreigners to come the USA then going to charge the foreigner $10 when he comes to the USA.
What "service" exactly he is being charged to pay for?
Finally!! This is a great thing to do. As anyone in business, a real successful business knows, is that you NEED TO MARKET!! Even the biggest firms in the country from Coke to McDonalds to Budweiser, etc., know, you HAVE TO MARKET. If you do nothing or almost nothing, as the states know trying to get people to visit their states instead of their own, is that you will lose bucks that have taken years to accumulate via campaigns. And let's face it - the world being in the shape it is right now - I'm sure Europans and Asians would rather stay home. (As is evidenced in Macau.) This is a global economy after all, and there's still a lot of torusm dollars in the rest of the world.
And who cares what state is promoted most or at all? That's not important. I'm for any state making tourism dollars which helps the country overall. And for states that don't have a marketing budget like California to reach out to other Americans and overseas, it may help the other states. And you never know - you may wind up moving to a state the benefits from this.
Many in the U.S. hospitality industry are excited about the opportunity to gain more marketing exposure. But it comes at a price from the visitors the program is designed to attract.
A US$10 fee will be charged to international visitors from 35 countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to cover up to US$100 million of the budget. The fee would be assessed once every two years, allowing unlimited visits into the U.S. during that time. The legislation also allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to charge a separate administrative fee which some say will amount to US$2-3 per transaction to manage the program -- costing another US$20-30 million each year. Individuals are likely to incur personal credit card fees as well.
Why a new fee when international travelers already contribute more than US$120 billion to the U.S. economy? Should the cost have been covered by existing taxes? Will this risk retaliatory fees upon U.S. travelers when they go to the impacted countries?
Learn more here: http://businesstraveldestinations.com/Co...