WASHINGTON (March 1, 2017)—U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following reaction to President Trump's Tuesday speech to Congress:
"The U.S. travel community looks forward to seeing the details of the president's revised plan to ensure proper vetting of visa applicants—a worthy objective to be sure. We trust that it will be precisely worded in order to avoid the confusion sown by his initial order among prospective travelers to the U.S. We also encourage the president to embrace language making it clear once again that legitimate, thoroughly screened visitors are valued and welcomed by our country. With travel as our No. 3 export and a top 10 employer in 49 states and the District of Columbia, our economy can ill afford unintended consequences of policies that are interpreted by some as a red light to travelers generally, not just those who pose a security risk.
"We continue to be encouraged by the president's oft-repeated commitment to our transportation infrastructure, particularly our airports that are so economically crucial yet falling behind due to lack of investment. The trillion-dollar figure he attaches to his infrastructure vision clearly faces some political hurdles; for that reason we encourage the president to kick-start his wider agenda by raising the cap on existing airport user fees, an approach that already has broad support across the political spectrum and achieves his aim of financing projects through both public and private capital.
"A recipe for American greatness is modern airports filled with legitimate travelers that want to spend and invest here. The travel community looks forward to working with this president to achieve it."
