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Honoring Outstanding Leadership in Congress

The Travel Champion Award is an annual honor presented to Members of Congress and Executive Branch officials for exhibiting outstanding leadership by enacting policies that spur increased travel to and within the United States.

Awardees must demonstrate a track record of advancing a policy agenda that promotes travel's ability to create jobs and stimulate economic growth, as well as serve as a public spokesperson to further educate policymakers and government officials alike to raise the profile of travel nationally and in local communities.

If you have questions, please email Nicole Porter, Vice President, Political Affairs.

Past Honorees

2024 Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri) U.S. House of Representatives
2024 Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington) U.S. House of Representatives
2023 Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) U.S. Senate
2023 Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) U.S. Senate
2023 Sec. Gina Raimondo U.S. Department of Commerce
2022 Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) U.S. Senate
2022 Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) U.S. Senate
2022 Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Illinois) U.S. House of Representatives
2019 Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) U.S. Senate
2019 Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) U.S. House of Representatives
2019 Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) U.S. Senate
2019 Rep. Tom Rice (R-South Carolina) U.S. House of Representatives
2019 Acting Under Sec. Manisha Singh U.S. Department of State
2018 Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) U.S. Senate
2018 Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai'i) U.S. Senate
2018 Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) U.S. House of Representatives
2018 Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tennessee) U.S. House of Representatives
2017 Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colorado)
 U.S. Senate
2017 Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida)
 U.S. Senate
2017 Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky)
 U.S. House of Representatives
2017 Rep. Judy Chu (D-California) U.S. House of Representatives
2016 Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nevada) U.S. Senate
2016 Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i) U.S. Senate
2016 Rep. David Jolly (R-Florida) U.S. House of Representatives
2016 Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) U.S. House of Representatives
2015 Sec. Penny Pritzker
 U.S. Department of Commerce
2015 Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota) U.S. Senate
2015 Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) U.S. Senate
2015 Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida) U.S. House of Representatives
2015 Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Illinois) U.S. House of Representatives
2014 Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) U.S. Senate
2014 Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) U.S. Senate
2014 Rep. Sam Farr (D-California) U.S. House of Representatives
2014 Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nevada) U.S. House of Representatives

Download the 2025 Priorities

You can download U.S. Travel's 2025 Strategic Priorities here.