U.S. Travel Continues to Fight for the Travel Industry and Its Workers

The coronavirus pandemic is a challenge unlike anything our industry has ever faced.

The economic pain that our members are feeling coupled with the worries we all have for the livelihoods of our employees is very real. Our industry has seen many weeks of few to no customers, no revenue and little help. We don’t know when the worst of the crisis will be over, much less when normal life can resume.

There is important work to be done to make sure travel businesses survive through the height of the pandemic to the eventual recovery phase.

The relief package passed by Congress, the CARES Act, contained numerous measures we had championed to make immediate aid available to our industry. But several provisions require enhancements or corrections to ensure all segments —particularly destination marketing organizations—receive the assistance they need to sustain themselves through this crisis.

Beyond the needs to make significant changes to the PPP so that the travel and tourism industry can truly have a bridge to recovery, we have been engaging in critical advocacy over the past week, including: 

• A document highlighting important modifications to PPP addressed to congressional leaders on the provisions our industry requires to stay afloat in a subsequent relief package
• A letter signed by more than 600 travel industry organizations urging congressional leadership to expand the PPP to include DMOs and CVBs
• A letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve urging quick utilization of the CARES Act’s authority and resources to establish programs to stabilize travel-dependent businesses, keep workers employed and mitigate a larger financial crisis
• Outreach to the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration requesting greater clarity on several provisions in the CARES Act

The road ahead is long, but I want our members to know that U.S. Travel will not stop fighting for you and your employees.

Please click here to see U.S. Travel’s coronavirus relief resources, click here to see our priorities document, and click here to see our industry sign-on letter.