TIA Seeks Creation Of National Tourism Agency

ORLANDO–– The United States is losing tourism dollars by not adequately marketing itself overseas, said William Norman, head of the Travel Industry Association (TIA). In a speech given here Aug. 12 during the Florida Governors Conference on Tourism, Norman pushed for the creation of a national tourism agency. The United States is the only major industrialized nation in the world whose government doesnt directly spend money on marketing tourism abroad. The Canadian government spent $67 million last year for tourism marketing through the Canadian Tourism Commission. The United Kingdom had a tourism promotional budget of $89 million last year, and Frances tourism industry used government-matching funds to spend $46 million on marketing. Leaders of the United States $546 billion tourism industry plan to ask Congress this fall to create a national tourism marketing corporation, Norman said. International travel to the United States is a $103 billion-a-year market. SOURCE: Associated Press