Creating Jobs Through Increased Travel to the U.S.
Adopted at the in 2014
WHEREAS, last year (2013), the $888 billion travel industry generated $2.1 trillion in total economic output and has the potential to grow and to grow fast; and
WHEREAS, international travel to the United States in particular is one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus. In 2013, spending by international visitors directly supported 1.2 million American jobs and generated $181 billion in U.S. exports; and
WHEREAS, increasing international travel in the United States is effective economic stimulus. When international visitors travel to the United States, they inject new money into the U.S. economy by staying in U.S. hotels, eating at U.S. restaurants, spending in U.S. stores, and visiting U.S. attractions; and
WHEREAS, international business travelers often attend conferences and trade shows in the U.S., and engage in face-to-face negotiations that yield sales of U.S. commercial goods and services; and
WHEREAS, expenditures made by international visitors made up one out of every 6.5 dollars spent by travelers in the United States. the travel industry generated a record international trade surplus of $57 billion in 2013; and
WHEREAS, as a means to create jobs and economic development through trade and tourism, the legislation authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to admit into the United States a qualifying Canadian citizen over 50 years old and his or her spouse for a period not to exceed 240 days if the person 1) maintains a Canadian residence and 2) owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay, and
WHEREAS, the employment recovery in the travel industry has outpaced the rest of the economy and much of this employment growth is being supported by the spending of international visitors traveling in the United States. of the 131,000 jobs added in the travel industry in 2013, more than a two in five was supported by international travel spending; and
WHEREAS, the most lucrative segment of international travel for the United States is the overseas market. these visitors tend to stay longer and spend more money while in the United States. On average, every overseas visitor spends $4,500 during their trip to the United States compared with less than $1,000 for Canadian and Mexican visitors. In fact, the spending from every 34 overseas visitors traveling in the United States supports one U.S. job; and
WHEREAS, if the U.S. could regain 17 percent of global long-haul travel market share by 2020, the U.S. would receive 59.5 million overseas arrivals, $265.4 billion in travel spending, and 1.4 million travel jobs in 2020. This means, the U.S. would gain an additional 49.8 million visitors and $222 billion in travel spending cumulatively from 2014 to 2020, generating 452,000 new jobs over the current (2013) level; and
WHEREAS, expansion of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) established under section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to appropriate countries increases United States security; and
WHEREAS, VWP was created by Congress in 1986 to facilitate overseas business and leisure travel to the United States and amended in 2007 so that it significantly enhances homeland security in addition to facilitating travel; and
WHEREAS, in 2013, countries included in the VWP were the largest source of inbound travel, sending from overseas more than 19 million visitors, or 60 percent of all overseas visitors, to the United States (i.e. international visitors other than those from our next-door neighbors Canada and Mexico); and
WHEREAS, in 2013, VWP visitors spent $79 billion while traveling to and within the U.S., directly supporting more than half a million American jobs along with $13 billion in payroll and generating $12 billion in tax revenues; and
WHEREAS, Congress has enacted legislation supporting an effort to develop and conduct a pilot program using secure videoconferencing technology to interview visa applicants in order to allow applicants greater access to the U.S. visa application process,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors urges the Administration and the Congress to enact this year the pending Jobs Through Launching Travel Act (JOLT Act/H.R. 1354), to implement the following sensible reforms to the U.S. visa process: Based on available data concerning travel habits, booking patterns, and generally accepted marketing principles, the Secretary of State shall set a standard of processing 90 percent of all visa interviews within 10 business days; and the Secretary of Homeland Security should regain authority to expand the Visa Waiver Program established under section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to countries with visa refusal rates up to 10 percent; and the Secretary of State should developpremium processing system to expedite short-term tourist and business visas for a fee; and the State Department should use the Congressional authority it has to conduct a pilot program using secure videoconferencing technology to interview visa applicants; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors supports the concept of extended legal stays by our neighbors who own or rent a residence in our country, but calls on the Congress to amend the legislation to extend its benefits to any resident of a bordering nation that meets all of the criteria set out in the bill.