On February 25, 2010, The U.S. Senate passed the Travel Promotion Act (TPA), sending this important industry priority to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and PTLA lobbied for the passage of this bill over the last three years.
The Senate passed TPA during a late evening 78-18 vote coming a little less than four months after the House passed its updated version of the bill on November 6, 2009. After an earlier 79-19 Senate vote last September, the bill encountered a parliamentary hurdle that caused the legislation to face a second series of House and Senate votes.
President Obama has indicated he will sign the bill shortly. He was a co-sponsor of the legislation in the 110th Congress and supports the efforts of the travel industry to create new jobs to support his Administration's stated mission of economic recovery this year. His recent remarks in Las Vegas about TPA also signaled his support of the bill and what it will achieve.
Once implemented, this bill is expected to create 40,000 new U.S. jobs to handle the 1.6 million new visitors to this country. And when those travelers spend a projected $4 billion in their visits, that activity will generate $321 million in tax revenue, helping to reduce the federal budget deficit by $425 million over the next ten years.