The United States will have a new chief travel and tourism officer to help revive domestic and international travel, the U.S. government has confirmed.
The new role is part of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (ITA), a $1.75 trillion, bi-partisan bill that was passed into law last week with a view toward restoring the post-pandemic U.S. economy.
The travel and tourism officer will be part of the Department of Transportation and will be charged with coordinating travel and tourism policy across all forms of transportation alongside the assistant secretary for aviation.
The newly created role was welcomed by WTTC chief executive Julia Simpson.
She said: “Since the pandemic brought travel almost to a standstill in 2020, the sector’s contribution to the United States GDP dropped by 41 per cent, showing just how critical travel and tourism is to the economy.
“While our recent projections indicate that United States tourism could experience year-over-year growth of $425 billion during 2022 and create more than 2.7 million more jobs, this new position will bring sharp focus on travel and tourism infrastructure and will be an advocate for projects to rebuild tourism and create much needed jobs.”
