WASHINGTON, D.C.
The industry is making great strides in the Beltway.
More than 40 U.S. travel industry leaders attended an Aug. 1 meeting of the White House Business Council, including Rossi Todd Davidson, the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board chairman and Travel Oregon's chief executive officer, Arne Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International and Rossi Ralenkotter, National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association and President and CEO of the Las Vegas CVA. The industry representatives met with several high-level officials of President Obama.
The meeting comes after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testified before Congress that "tourism has been something of a bright spot" for the economy and a senior economist at Moody's said "tourism has been an over-performer...this is an industry that's fully recovered from the recession."
The U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Commerce also developed and distributed a fact sheet that highlights the value of travel and tourism.
“Our industry has firmly established its seat at the table and its ability to expand the nation's global competitiveness,” said Ralenkotter.
