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When it comes to the debate on jobs, there's always plenty of talk about entrepreneurship, small business, biotechnology and clean energy. …

Orlando Sentinel
When it comes to the debate on jobs, there's always plenty of talk about entrepreneurship, small business, biotechnology and clean energy. …. "If you look back decades, I don't think travel or tourism has ever been part of that conversation," said Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of the industry's lobbying group, the U.S. Travel Association. "There isn't a full appreciation for the 7.7 million jobs in the travel industry."

…Big Tourism can take some comfort from the invitations received by Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and American Airlines Chairman Gerard Arpey to President Barack Obama's job summit last week. That ensured some attention was paid to Iger's calls to lower the corporate tax rate and ease immigration policies that can make it difficult for tourists to visit. Also among their wish list items to help drive growth: reinstatement of a tax deduction for travel expenses for spouses accompanying someone on business travel and an 80 percent tax deduction for business meals.

-- “We can create jobs, too, Big Tourism says”, Beth Kassab, December 6, 2009

The Wall Street Journal
Beyond the pleas from the highway and transit sectors, the White House is getting flooded with entreaties from other advocacy groups. On Wednesday, Roger Dow, chief executive of the U.S. Travel Association, sent Mr. Obama a letter calling for the White House and Congress to ‘unlock the power of the travel community to put Americans back to work with tax incentives for job-creating travel, targeted efforts to promote international travel and government funding to remove roadblocks to an efficient travel infrastructure.’

-- “House Transport Panel Head Seeks $69 Billion in New Spending”, Christopher Conkey, December 2, 2009

The New York Times
When the economy collapsed last fall, many companies had to make some quick decisions about travel, typically one of the first areas they trim when finances are tight. Should they cut back as most of their competitors were, continue business as usual or spend even more to get a leg up? …Two recent reports, commissioned independently by the [National] business travel association and another trade group, the U.S. Travel Association, found a clear link between business travel and corporate profit.

…Adam Sacks, managing director of Oxford Economics, the firm that prepared the U.S. Travel Association report,…said the findings confirmed what business people already knew intuitively: curbing travel may save money in the short term, but there are significant long-term benefits from investing in business travel. “Not all cuts are smart cuts,” he said.

-- “Some Rediscover the Benefits of Business Travel”, Tonya Mohn, November 24, 2009

ABC News
ABCNews.com — Just how old is the air traffic control system that keeps our skies safe? That was the question many people were asking after a Federal Aviation Administration computer glitch Thursday morning caused widespread cancelations and flight delays across the country. It was the second major failure in 15 months, leading some to say it's about time the country upgraded an air traffic control system that dates back to the 1960s.

"We're using technology that is not nearly as good as what most Americans have in their car," said Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of the U.S. Travel Association, which represents airlines, hotels and others in the travel industry.

-- “FAA or Your Car: Whose Computer Has More Muscle?”, Scott Mayerowitz, November 20, 2009

BusinessWeek
The bad press surrounding AIG's infamous October 2008 sales meeting in Dana Point, Calif.—where employees partied at a lavish resort as AIG got billions in a bailout—helped put a chill on the luxury hotel business. …Now luxury hotels are trying to rejuvenate junkets—by couching them as wise investments.

…In September the [U.S.] travel association gave industry salespeople a 50-page study projecting bottom-line benefits for business events and travel. …The message: Hotel meetings, with their ballroom dinners, poolside cocktails, and afternoon golf outings, aren't frippery. They're a prudent way to motivate staff and cultivate new business.

-- “It's not a junket, it's an investment”, Burt Helm, November 20, 2009

Time
Time.com — Health care legislation may be garnering most of the headlines these days, but it's far from the only bill circulating on Capitol Hill. Another new piece of legislation quietly making its way to President Obama's desk is the Travel Promotion Act (TPA) — it has already been approved by the Senate and is now in front of the House — which would establish the country's first official nonprofit tourism board.

…"We're welcoming fewer and fewer visitors every year," laments Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of public affairs at U.S Travel [Association], the nation's leading travel industry advocacy group.

-- “Can a New U.S. Tourism Board Woo Visitors?”, David Kaufman, November 16, 2009

Washington Business Journal
The U.S. Travel Association, based in Washington, says modest increases in leisure, business and international inbound travel in 2010 will create 90,000 new jobs. The group forecasts leisure travel to rise 2 percent next year, business travel to rise 2.5 percent, and international travel to the U.S. to rise 3 percent.

…“Our industry is uniquely capable of adapting to economic upswings and quickly adding tens of thousands of jobs, said Roger Dow, chief executive of the U.S. Travel Association in a statement.

-- “Travel Industry to Reverse Job Losses”, Jeff Clabaugh, November 6, 2009

Associated Press
The travel industry is working to redefine itself as a key player in the American economy: a means by which companies can improve profits, a source of tax revenue and a provider of jobs. Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association senior vice president, said factors that include the recession, a spurt of public anger over extravagant business travel and politicians who lashed out at the travel industry resulted in $2 billion worth of events and meetings being canceled when the rancor was at its peak early this year.

If over the years the industry had done a better job of articulating why it is a vital economic force, the damage likely would not have been so great, Freeman said Tuesday at a national marketing forum organized by the association. "We had left ourselves exposed, terribly exposed. We were the folks that were an easy target," Freeman said.

-- “Business travel pitched as economic engine”, Chuck Bartels, October 28, 2009

CNN
CNN.com — Despite strong global growth in long-haul international travel between 2000 and 2008, the U.S. welcomed 633,000 fewer overseas visitors in 2008 than it did in 2000, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce. …The lag in the growth of overseas visits can be attributed to a difficult visa process, a lack of national promotion and a negative perception of how people are treated upon arrival, said Roger Dow, the U.S. Travel Association’s president and CEO. …Getting the word out about what's happening and what the United States has to offer is key, Dow believes.

-- “International travelers: America wants you”, Marnie Hunter, October 26, 2009

Travel Weekly
As of Oct. 1, the U.S.-China memorandum of understanding allowing for group leisure travel from China to the U.S. was expanded to encompass tours from 21 Chinese provinces and special regions, according to Bruce Bommarito, executive vice president and COO of the U.S. Travel Association. …

Roger Dow, the association's president and CEO, and Shao Qiwei, chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, were scheduled to formally announce this expansion at the Oct. 23 conclusion of the third annual U.S.-China Directors' Summit in Orlando. …The U.S.-China Directors' Summit is designed to bring together the tourism directors from all of China's 31 provinces and regions with the directors from U.S. state tourism offices and a number of cities; its purpose is to increase cooperation on travel-related matters and hence foster inbound tourism business from China.

-- “Pact expands to allow tours of U.S. from 21 Chinese regions”, Nadine Godwin, October 26, 2009

Congressional Quarterly
Travel advocates and immigration groups have drawn their own lessons from the International Olympic Committee's decision to hold the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro rather than in Chicago. As you might imagine, they think the United States needs to work on its image.

The president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, Roger Dow said it remains too bureaucratically difficult for foreign tourists to come here. "We need to take seriously, "Dow said, "the challenge of reforming our entry process to ensure there is a welcome mat to our friends around the world."

-- “Reviving U.S. tourism image”, Shawn Zeller, October 14, 2009

Marketplace
[Congressman] Delahunt is a lead sponsor of a bill that would launch a massive promotional campaign for America abroad. …Some states and tourist attractions already run ads overseas. But that's not enough, says Adam Sacks, managing director of Oxford Economics USA. …It's one thing that New York and Las Vegas and California have international campaigns, there is no brand America being developed.

-- “New campaign to promote travel to U.S.”, Elizabeth Threlkeld, October 9, 2009




The New York Times
Among the toughest questions posed to the Chicago bid team this week in Copenhagen was one that raised the issue of what kind of welcome foreigners would get from airport officials when they arrived in this country to attend the Games.

…“It's clear the United States still has a lot of work to do to restore its place as a premier travel destination,” Roger Dow, U.S. Travel's [Association] president, said in the statement released today. “When IOC members are commenting to our President that foreign visitors find traveling to the United States a ‘pretty harrowing experience,' we need to take seriously the challenge of reforming our entry process to ensure there is a welcome mat to our friends around the world, even as we ensure a secure system.”

-- “Chicago's Loss: Is Passport Control to Blame?”, Michelle Higgins, October 2, 2009

The Wall Street Journal
What do Reno, Orlando and Las Vegas have in common? To some pockets of the federal government, they just seem like too much fun. Instead, employees at some big agencies, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are being encouraged to host meetings in more buttoned-down places such as St. Louis, Milwaukee or Denver.

…"We get the sense that these agencies are worried about scrutiny, and in order to avoid criticism from the media they are essentially willing to spend more money and do things that they think will prevent them media scrutiny," said Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of public affairs for the U.S. Travel Association. "In the quest to demonize travel, we're killing jobs."

-- “Government Meeting? Stay Away From Fun City”, Tamara Audi, July 22, 2009

Associated Press
The White House on Thursday encouraged Americans to travel, soothing words for the tourism industry that had complained for weeks that a remark from the president about corporate junkets had a chilling effect on business travel. …"The president believes it's important to have a strong tourism industry and that it's important that, as the president said earlier ... that we shouldn't retrench," [White House press secretary] Gibbs said. "He would encourage people to travel."

…Tourism advocates, who met with Obama Wednesday, praised the White House statement. …"These comments are extremely positive for the 1 million employees in this industry whose livelihood depends on business meetings and events," said Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of the U.S. Travel Association.

-- “White House says it encourages business travel”, Kathleen Hennessey, March 12, 2009

Politico
The travel industry is “under attack,” and the enemy is…the nation’s very own preening and pontificating politicians. Berating bailout recipients for business trips and boondoggles has become something of a sport in Washington these days.

…Roger Dow, president of the U.S. Travel Association, says there’s an alarming amount of collateral damage piling up amid the rhetorical broadsides: hotel and airline workers whose jobs are threatened by an abrupt rush by businesses to cancel events. “This has been painted as an effort to go after fat cats and CEOs,” Dow said. “It’s not the CEOs who are paying the price.”

-- “War on travel? Industry fights back”, Jeanne Cummings, March 4, 2009

USA Today
The problem is that all types of corporate gatherings are being labeled "junkets," and companies are cutting back to avoid getting a bad rap, travel leaders say.

…With travel vital to communities across the USA, the U.S. Travel Association is mounting a major offensive to quell criticism from federal lawmakers. The travel group formed an unusual coalition with seven other associations to "reframe the debate," says Geoff Freeman of the USTA. "The fight is not with meetings, events and travel," he says. "The problem is with irresponsibility. The grandstanding has scared companies of all stripes and colors, whether they've taken money from the federal government or not."

-- “Posh trips for jobs well-done are fading away”, Barbara DeLollis, February 26, 2009