Dear Travel Advocate,
Thank you for all of the actions you’ve taken thus far. Congress hears us ; they know how hard our industry has been hit and just how critical our industry will be in our nation’s overall economic recovery.
But more relief is needed. We URGE YOU TO ACT TODAY and ask YOUR REPRESENTATIVE to sign a “Dear Colleague” letter circulated by Reps. Matsui, Bilirakis, Titus, and Wilson urging Congressional leadership to allow all destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The deadline for signatures on the letter is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15, COB . It will take less than two minutes to send a note to your Representative to ask for their support on the letter. Just answer the very brief prompts, and we’ll take care of the rest.
You may view the letter we are asking your members of Congress to sign onto below . As always, please feel free to reach out to me or a member of my team with any questions.
Best,
Tori Emerson Barnes
Executive Vice President, Public Affairs and Policy
U.S. Travel Association
LETTER TEXT
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy:
As you work to draft additional legislation to strengthen America’s response to the Coronavirus outbreak, we urge you to support the travel and tourism industry by including destination marketing organizations (DMOs) as eligible entities for federal support. The coronavirus has affected all sectors of the U.S. economy, but it has had a disproportionate impact on restaurants, hotels, and the hospitality industry. The actions we take now will have a significant impact on the speed and sustainability of our economic recovery. Supporting DMOs that are promoting travel and tourism spending in the U.S. will help generate lasting prosperity as we begin our recovery.
The travel and tourism industry is a major economic driver. In 2018, domestic and international travelers contributed nearly $1.1 trillion to the U.S. economy. Of that, 80 percent came from domestic travelers. This spending, in turn, creates job opportunities across the country. In 2017, travel and tourism directly supported approximately 5.29 million jobs. For workers of all ages and skill levels and in cities, towns, and rural areas, domestic travel creates economic opportunities.
Much of the strength in the domestic travel and tourism sector can be attributed to statewide and regional DMOs. These organizations create and manage initiatives that fuel the economic support to drive tourism and visitor spending across the U.S. Because DMOs are located throughout the country, they have been able to expand the reach and scale of domestic tourism. While DMOs have been successful in bringing tourists to gateway cities like Los Angeles and New York, they also drive tourists to visit smaller or mid-size markets, generating billions of dollars in economic activity for these communities. However, the severity of the coronavirus’ economic disruption to domestic travel has threatened the financial viability of many DMOs.
Most DMOs are small, 501©(6), 501©(4), or quasi-governmental organizations that are dependent on tourism revenues for their operating budgets. With the precipitous drop in travel and tourism, DMOs have been required to severely limit or freeze operations and lay-off countless employees. Despite this, DMOs’ status as 501©(6), 501©(4), or quasi-governmental organizations has meant that recovery funding made available in the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is unavailable to them. To ensure DMOs can continue to do their crucial work of driving domestic travel and tourism, we urge you to include them as eligible entities for federal support in programs like the PPP. Additionally, providing targeted support for DMOs can be a powerful tool in generating the domestic spending we need to kick-start the economy.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. We look forward to working with you on legislation to contain the spread of the Coronavirus and strengthen our economy.
Sincerely, YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS!