WASHINGTON (December 15, 2021)—U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s markup of the Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act of 2021 (S. 3375):

“The bill, which is crucial to the restoration of the travel and tourism industry, creates high-level leadership in the federal government on travel issues, enhances travel facilitation and security and ensures our nation has long-term strategies for travel’s economic recovery.

“Specifically, the bill establishes an Assistant Secretary for Travel and Tourism position to provide permanent federal leadership to increase global competitiveness and directs the Commerce Secretary to develop a recovery strategy and set national visitation and spending goals for international inbound travel. Additionally, the legislation authorizes a pilot program that enhances security and facilitation by streamlining the entry process for international arrivals at U.S. airports.

“The measures included in this legislation will help to sustain an even recovery throughout all sectors of travel and make the U.S. more globally competitive as we welcome back visitors from around the world.

“U.S. Travel thanks Ranking Member Wicker and Subcommittee Chair Rosen for leading the development of this important legislation, and thanks Chair Cantwell, Senator Blunt, Senator Cramer, Senator Cortez Masto, Senator King, Senator Klobuchar, Senator Murkowski, Senator Schatz, Senator Rick Scott, Senator Sinema and Senator Sullivan for their contributions to the bill.”

U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry. In 2020, travel generated $1.5 trillion in economic output and supported 11 million jobs, a drastic decline from pre-pandemic figures. U.S. Travel's mission is to increase travel to and within the United States. Visit ustravel.org for information and recovery-related data.