WASHINGTON, D.C.
With an end to the federal shutdown, the travel industry will no longer be hit by the estimated $152 million daily loss in economic output created by the industry. The Smithsonian Museums are back in operation, and America’s hundreds of national park sites will be following suit in the near future.
The U.S. Travel Association has praised the White House and Congress for bringing an end to the shutdown that had impaired much of the country's travel economy since October 1.
"America's travel community thanks President Obama and congressional leaders for reaching bipartisan agreement to reopen the government and end the hemorrhaging of dollars and jobs that threatened to hobble the United States travel economy," said U.S. Travel President and CEO Roger Dow. "The shutdown's damage cannot be undone, but reopening the government will allow America's travel community to get back to work and continue to drive U.S. economic recovery."
While services such as security screening and air traffic control were largely unaffected by the shutdown, the closure of national parks and historic sites severely harmed the many local economies that depend upon visitors to those destinations.
During the shutdown, countries such as Germany, the U.K. and China—which together account for more than five million visitors to the U.S. annually—issued warnings to their citizens about possible shutdown-related problems and delays when traveling to and within the U.S. Dow warned that the shutdown likely will have long-term consequences for the United States' brand in the competitive international travel market.
"Economies hate uncertainty," Dow said. "Now that the shutdown has been concluded, the best thing our federal policymakers can do for our economy is to pursue a long-term fiscal plan that includes commitments to invest in our country's aging travel infrastructure."
