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Legislators Hear from the Frontline of American Travel Industry

Monday, June 27, 2022

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Under the banner of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), travel agency executives and industry advocates came together yesterday in Washington, D.C. for ASTA Legislative Day 2022.

Legislative Day is a member-only event that brings travel advisor industry leaders directly to Members of Congress to discuss issues that impact their businesses, work life and even the client’s travel experience. Before attending Congressional meetings pre-scheduled by ASTA, we prepared travel advisors with exclusive training to make sure they’re a confident travel advisor advocate.

Yesterday, over 230 travel advisors and suppliers from 47 states across the country – the largest turnout in Legislative Day’s history – took their message to Capitol Hill, sharing ASTA’s stance on critical issues facing the corporate and leisure travel economy. The event featured nearly 200 meetings with Members of Congress and staff, the vast majority of them in-person.

Zane Kerby, ASTA President & CEO said that when it comes to the government, he face a choice – engage in the process or put your head in the sand, leave the field to the opposition and hope for the best. Starting well before COVID hit, ASTA and our members have engaged tirelessly, both in D.C. and in the states, and we have a series of wins to show for it, most notably the Biden administration’s recent decision to rescind the inbound testing rule for international travel. By showing Congress who we are, who we employ and that we are paying attention, the government will understand that travel advisors advocate for the traveling public. Legislative Day is the most important part of that engagement.

Policy priorities discussed included: the Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act (H.R. 6161/S. 3625) to retroactively restore the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), which was terminated ahead of schedule to pay for unrelated infrastructure spending in November 2021; and the Visit America Act (H.R. 6965/S. 3375) to establish an Assistant Secretary of Travel and Tourism within the U.S. Department of Commerce and direct the Department to develop and implement a COVID–19 public health emergency recovery strategy to assist the U.S. travel and tourism industry to quickly recover from the pandemic.

“Policymaking is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Eben Peck, ASTA’s Executive Vice President of Advocacy. “Our goal yesterday was to raise awareness about our industry and how COVID restrictions have impacted us, and secure support from legislators for policies that will help our members’ businesses recover. Legislative Day is the most impactful thing our members can do to help make that happen.”

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