TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASKS FOR FEDERAL AID: More than 600 travel organizations in every state and multiple U.S. territories signed on to a letter today asking lawmakers to include the travel industry in any further Covid assistance it doles out to other industries lobbying for pandemic aid, like restaurants, gyms and live entertainment venues.
— “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the travel industry, costing the industry over $730 billion in lost spending since the start of the pandemic,” the groups, led by the U.S. Travel Association, wrote in a letter to congressional leadership this afternoon, urging members to “swiftly enact federal policies” to help the industry recover from over a year of border closures and other travel restrictions due to the virus.
— The number of signatories on the letter serves as “a clear signal of the needs of this industry from coast to coast,” Tori Barnes, the trade group’s top lobbyist, told reporters on a call today, arguing that the travel industry should be included in any further assistance or targeted grant programs Congress provides restaurants, venues, gyms, minor league teams, hotels or border businesses.
— The letter warns that without federal help, domestic business travel and international travel spending in the U.S. may not rebound to its pre-pandemic levels until 2024. It calls for lawmakers to offer tax credits or relief to “stimulate spending and quicken the pace of recovery for business travel, conferences, live entertainment, the arts, minor league sports, and other in-person events,” as well as a transfer of $250 million to Brand USA to boost inbound international travel.
— The industry also asks lawmakers to expand eligibility for targeted grant programs for restaurants and venues, or create a similar program “for travel-dependent businesses severely impaired by COVID-19 restrictions — including hotels, event planners, group tour operators,…