What Long-Ignored U.S. Travel Execs Told a New Senate Subcommittee Focused on Tourism
Photo Credit: Tourism officials from Las Vegas (pictured) were among those testifying about needs for recovery before a new Senate tourism subcommittee dedicated to tourism on April 13, 2021. Flickr / Billy Kerr
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The new bipartisan tourism subcommittee, co-chaired by senators from tourism-dependent states, kicked off Tuesday with testimony from travel executives on U.S. tourism's biggest recovery challenges ahead — and that in itself is another big light in the tunnel alongside vaccines.
One of the Biden Administration's earliest moves, signaling a recognition of the U.S. travel industry's economic muscle, was the creation of a new Senate subcommittee on tourism, trade, and export promotion
This new Senate tourism subcommittee on Tuesday held an inaugural hearing on the "State of Travel and Tourism During Covid-19," with testimony led by Tori Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy at the U.S. Travel Association (USTA).
Other speakers included hospitality industry veterans from tourism-dependent states Florida and Nevada, including Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill, MGM Resorts International Regional Portfolio President Jorge Perez and Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association CEO Carol Dover.
The subcommittee, which falls under the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, is a long time-in-coming recognition for an industry whose economic might often goes unrecognized in D.C.
If most of the hearing k
