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Obama Administration Begins Implementing Travel Promotion Act
August 9, 2010
On Sept. 8, the Department of Homeland Security will begin collecting a $10 fee from select overseas visitors for the purpose of funding the United States' first-ever travel promotion program, it announced last week.
Collected once every two years from travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries, the fee — which will total $14, encompassing both the $10 travel promotion fee and a $4 administration fee — is a result of the Travel Promotion Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in March. Funding up to 50 percent of the country's promotion activities, it will allow the United States to advertise itself for the first time as a tourist destination to travelers in foreign countries.
"We are pleased to see the Obama Administration, particularly Secretaries Napolitano and Locke, aggressively implementing key components of the Travel Promotion Act," said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. "The soon-to-be-created Corporation for Travel Promotion will help to better explain America's travel and security policies and let the world know that America wants their business. The result will be billions of dollars in new visitor spending and thousands of new American jobs."
According to the U.S. Travel Association, which cites data from Oxford Economics, a well-executed travel promotion program could attract 1.6 million new international visitors to the United States and create $4 billion in new spending every year.
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