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NTA Takes Travel Industry Issues to Congressional Leaders

February 5, 2010

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:        
Madeline Vied                                                                                     
madeline.vied@ntastaff.com
859.226.4275
800.682.8886
February 5, 2010

NTA Takes Travel Industry Issues to Congressional Leaders

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During NTA’s Grassroots Symposium, Feb 8-10, NTA members will take the association’s priority advocacy issues to Capitol Hill. NTA has scheduled over 100 meetings with the congressmen,  their professional staff, and the numerous  committees that impact travel and tourism.

"I can’t think of a better way to further the needs of the travel and tourism industry than by calling on our elected leaders to get their support," said NTA President Lisa Simon, CTP. "Travel is vitally important to the U.S. economy and, as voters and representatives of travel and tourism, we have an obligation to educate Congress on issues that effect our members’ businesses."

The NTA Symposium also includes informative sessions with key Washington leaders. Topics to be covered include travel to Cuba, parks and public lands, transportation and entry, exit and visa rules.

Symposium attendees will hear from Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA), former Congressman Jon Porter, American Recreation Coalition President and CEO Derrick Crandall and Cuba experts Mavis Anderson (Latin America Working Group), Phil Peters (Lexington Institute) and Geoff Thale (Washington Office on Latin America, to name a few.

NTA’s eight active priority issues for 2010 are:

  • U.S. entry and exit procedures, visa issuance and the expansion of the Visa Waiver Program
  • Marketing grants for destination marketing organizations and nonprofit organizations
  • Airline policies that impact sellers of travel
  • Lifting of U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba
  • Effective implementation of the Travel Promotion Act and the creation of a high-level travel/tourism presence
  • National Parks and public lands access/marketing funds
  • Passage of highway and Federal Aviation Administration authorization bills
  • Hotel occupancy tax issues

NTA was established in 1951 as a unified voice to advocate a regulatory environment in which the tour and travel industry could operate. Today, NTA’s government relations activities include monitoring security issues, as well as state and federal legislation and regulatory issues affecting the travel and tourism industry. NTA maintains full-time representation in Washington, D.C., to serve as the association’s voice on Capitol Hill. Additionally, NTA empowers members to be advocates on the local level, as well as to provide support for NTA’s positions on national priority issues. For more information on NTA’s government relations activities, please visit NTAonline.com.

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