Statement on the Obama Administration’s National Travel and Tourism Strategy

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today released the following statement on the Obama Administration’s National Travel and Tourism Strategy.

In an effort to provide more job opportunities across the country, the Administration recently called for a coordinated national strategy on travel and tourism. The Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior led a government-wide effort to outline a long-term strategy for increasing domestic and international tourism. This is a blueprint for the federal government to reach our goal of attracting and welcoming 100 million international visitors, who we estimate will spend $250 billion, annually by the end of 2021. The National Travel and Tourism Strategy maps out what the government can and will do to enable job growth in the travel and tourism industry. Additionally, the Department of Commerce will create a National Travel and Tourism Office to provide the day-to-day support needed to implement the strategy.

“I applaud the Obama Administration on their continued efforts and focus on travel and tourism policies that will help offer job opportunities for all Americans,” said Congresswoman Bordallo. “The national strategy clearly includes the territories in its implementation. Of particular interest to Guam is the Administration’s continued focus on expanding the visa waiver program to attract visitors from growing economies. I continue to work closely with Governor Calvo, the Guam Legislature and travel and tourism industry stakeholders on Guam to expand our visa waiver program to Chinese and Russian visitors. Today’s release of the national strategy further bolsters our efforts to expand the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program. We all continue to work closely with federal agency counterparts to address security concerns and find the right balance between security and economic development.”

The National Travel and Tourism Strategy can be found on the Department of the Interior’s website.