WASHINGTON, D.C.
American Hotel & Lodging Association President/CEO Katherine Lugar has issued the following statement in response to the federal government shutdown:
“On behalf of hoteliers throughout the country, we implore the President and Congress to work together and reach an agreement to reopen the government without delay. The shutdown will disrupt recent economic progress and job creation, of which the lodging industry has played a significant role.
Hoteliers are creating jobs at a pace well beyond that of the general private sector workforce, and continue to contribute to the overall health of the economy. However, for each day the government is shutdown, more than $8 million in economic activity at our nation’s hotels will be lost, putting jobs at risk and causing repercussions across many other related sectors.
We urge the President and Congress to come to an agreement immediately to provide the fiscal certainty necessary for continued economic growth within the lodging sector and our economy at large.”
Elsewhere, other groups and travel leaders took issue with the shutdown, including Visit California President and CEO Caroline Beteta, who issued the following official statement:
“The current federal government shutdown has come with immediate impacts on our national parks, public lands and overall tourism economy. Visitors to and travelers throughout California spend $292 million each day, $12.1 million every hour, or $202,000 every minute. Our national parks, public lands and surrounding gateway areas are major contributors to these figures and the effects of this shutdown will be felt immediately in these communities.
We look forward with hope and anticipation for a speedy resolution so these communities and the California tourism industry as a whole can continue to assist in the country's economic recovery.”
More than 400 National Park sites have been closed down, including numerous ones in the Golden State.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) also issued a statement on the shutdown from Executive Director and COO Michael W. McCormick.
“America’s economy can’t grow without a reliable system supporting business travel. U.S. business travel spending is expected to reach more than $273 billion this year, finally surpassing pre-recession levels. But a government shutdown will have rippling effects through the economy and severely impact the business travel industry. Every business trip cancelled results in permanently lost travel industry revenues, decreased future employment rates and lost economic benefit to our country.
The business travel industry is among the first impacted by a shutdown. For example, the government’s inability to issue passports and visas will result in cancelled trips and lost business opportunities. During the 1996 shutdown, hundreds of thousands of passports went unissued and tens of thousands of visa applications went unprocessed.
If the shutdown is extended, overseas businesses will lose confidence and put U.S. investment plans on hold. The international community will reconsider decisions to grow business here and whether to hold meetings and conferences in U.S. cities that rely on that economic benefit. Each inbound international business trip increases U.S. merchandise exports to the visited country by $36,000 per year and each overseas traveler spends approximately $5,000 when they visit.
Unfortunately, like the sequestration earlier this year, this standoff is using business travel as a bargaining chip. This self-destructive government shutdown will result in lost productivity, lost business opportunities and lost revenue.
Enough is enough. The United States must remain open for business.”
