TRAVEL planners expect the partial shutdown of the US federal government will be disrupting without having a long-term effect on business travel, but Brand USA has assured the trade that the US remains “open for business”.
Congress on Tuesday failed to agree to raise the government’s debt ceiling, leading to a partial government shutdown, which is expected to see 800,000 of a total two million government workers sent home. Government buildings and services, as well as public-funded monuments, museums and national parks including the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the National Mall and the Statue of Liberty.
Roger Schreurs, director of Loco Enzo and chairman of SITE Netherlands, told TTG Asia e-Daily at IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific: “It could be a disaster (if they shut down all national parks and public monuments), but in my experience these situations don’t normally last. New York, for example, is such a big city that it can absorb this.”
Incentive and meeting groups currently in the US or travelling there during the shutdown would be largely unaffected, provided their travel planner has contingencies in place, said Abe Korn of New York-based Worldwide Meeting & Event Services.
“Good planners will always have an alternative,” he said. “If I come here (Thailand), I will always have an alternative of equal quality for my clients in case an attraction is closed.”
Meanwhile Brand USA is urging tour operators to improvise itineraries, stressing that the “vast majority” of attractions will remain open.
Allaying the concerns of Asian outbound US specialists, Reene Ho-Phang, Brand USA’s managing director-Taiwan & Hong Kong, said the wider tourism scene in the US functioned in a similar manner to the set-up of Brand USA as a public-private partnership. “Tourism offerings in iconic cities such as Las Vegas, New York and San Francisco are funded by the industry, i.e., private enterprises, not by the government and therefore will not be affected by the shutdown. In many cases, private efforts and involvement mostly supercede governmental efforts. This is not found in Asia’s tourism scenario where the government plays the lead role.”
She added that Brand USA “wants to let the public know that America is open for business”.
Giving examples of how tour operators could improvise in DC, Ho-Phang said: “If the National Gallery of Art is closed, tour operators can direct visitors to see masterpieces at the Phillips Collection, Museum & Gardens and the Kreeger Museum. If you can’t tour the US capital, you can take an exciting city tour with Bike and Roll and City Segway Tours of Washington DC, and Cultural Tourism’s Arts4All Festival, including Walkington, DC neighbourhood tours.”
On visa and security checkpoint issues, she said: “We do not expect the partial ‘government shutdown’ to have a major adverse impact on travel operations. Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration have been deemed essential personnel and are unaffected by the shutdown.
“Consular operations domestically and overseas will remain 100 per cent operational as long as there are sufficient fees to support operations. However, if a passport agency is located in a government building affected by a lapse in appropriations, the facility may become unsupported. The continuance of consular operations in such instances will be treated on a case-by-case basis by the Under Secretary for Management.”
Read more in the IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific Show Daily
Additional reporting by Raini Hamdi
