THE US Travel Association today welcomed the end of the US’ fiscal impasse which had led to an estimated loss of US$152 million per day in travel-related expenditure.
Said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the association: “America’s travel community thanks president (Barack) Obama and congressional leaders for reaching a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government and end the haemorrhaging of dollars and jobs that threatened to hobble the US travel economy.
“The shutdown’s damage cannot be undone, but reopening the government will allow America’s travel community to get back to work and continue to drive US economic recovery.”
Although services such as security screening and air traffic control were unaffected, the closure of attractions such as national parks and historic sites inevitably impacted inbound tourism (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 3, 2013).
Countries such as Germany, the UK and China also warned citizens travelling to the US about the likelihood of shutdown-related travel problems.
According to the association, travel is the US’ top services export and as an industry, has added jobs at thrice the rate than the rest of the economy since 2010.
