The US travel sector has gained substantial recognition in Washington to help fund recovery from the impact of the pandemic.
The role of assistant secretary of commerce for travel and tourism is now likely to be created by the Biden administration.
The development came as a bill – the Visit America Act – won overwhelming support from a key committee on Capitol Hill.
A request has now been made for the US Commerce Department to develop a ten-year travel and tourism strategy.
The assistant secretary’s responsibilities will include setting an annual goal for the number of international visitors to the US, providing support for improved visitor visa processing and promoting travel exports abroad.
The Visit America Act also calls for a Covid pandemic recovery strategy to be created to assist the recovery of the US travel and tourism industry from travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
The bill also provides statutory authority for the US travel and tourism advisory board to aid the assistant secretary in developing and implementing the pandemic recovery strategy.
