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As 2009 comes to a close, the U.S. Travel Association would like to wish its members, partners, and other industry professionals a safe and happy holiday season. As we reflect on the past year for the industry, we would like to provide the readers of the U.S. Travel News Brief, a look at the most accessed articles from the year. Our regular publication will resume next Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010.
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More Hotels Facing an Uncertain Future
from The New York Times
 Hotels have been struggling for months as businesses and individuals cut back on travel. But what was a bad situation is likely to turn worse as a rapidly growing number of hotels -- including many high-end and luxury properties -- are forced into bankruptcy or foreclosure in coming months.
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Cultural and Heritage Tourism Report Now Available for Purchase
The industry's first segmentation study of the cultural and heritage traveler is available in PDF and hard copy. Commissioned by the US Cultural and Heritage
Tourism Marketing Council, in partnership with the Department of Commerce, and supported by sponsors such as Heritage Travel Inc, California, Florida, Virginia, Chicago, Cleveland, Sarasota, and others
the study demonstrates that cultural and heritage travelers contribute $192 billion to the U.S. economy. Click here to order or contact Laura@MandalaResearch.com for more information.
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Bashing Business Meetings Has Consequences
from the Providence Business News
The meeting and convention industry is under fire. The dialogue occurring in the U.S. House and Senate, and subsequently in the national media, which portrays legitimate travel to meetings and conferences as perks and corporate excess, is having a negative and potentially devastating effect on the entire hospitality industry.
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White House Says It Encourages Business Travel
from The Associated Press via MSNBC
The White House on Thursday encouraged Americans to travel, soothing words for the tourism industry that had complained for weeks that a remark from the president about corporate junkets had a chilling effect on business travel.
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Travel Industry Scrambles to Cope as Americans Spend Less
from USA Today
Americans' already battered confidence in the economy went into free fall in February, sinking to new lows as consumers grow more fearful over massive job cuts and shrinking retirement accounts.
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Senate Committee Passes Travel Promotion Act of 2009
from the HotelWorld Network
The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation today approved S. 1023, the "Travel Promotion Act of 2009." The bipartisan legislation, led by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) creates a public-private partnership with a budget of up to $200 million annually to attract international travelers to the United States by better communicating America's security policies and competing for visitors.
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How Obama Can Fix Travel
from MSNBC
MSNBC Travel Contributor Rob Lovitt provides a travel industry wish list for the new president. Among his requests is to improve the FAA, extend rights for air travelers, reinvigorate rail service and promote inbound tourism.
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Tourism Industry Sees a Friend in Obama
from the Orlando Sentinel
The swearing-in Barack Obama as the nation's 44th president will inspire hope and change across the country. And the sentiment won't be any less palpable among the big players in the tourism lobby.
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New Web Site: DiscoverAmerica.com
from The Associated Press via Yahoo! News
A new Web site has been launched to help Americans explore their own country: DiscoverAmerica.com. DiscoverAmerica.com includes an interactive map that gives mileage from city to city, an activity finder listing more than 3,000 experiences, attractions and events, including museums, gardens, ski slopes, festivals and parks. The site also offers links to tourism information for all 50 states, as well as for more than 100 cities and other destinations.
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Las Vegas: In Last 90 Days, Groups Canceled 340 Events
from MeetingNews
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, 340 Las Vegas events have been canceled in the past 90 days, costing the local economy an estimated $131.6 million in lost spending. So said a report this week from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which blamed the cancellations not only on the broader economic recession, but also on the criticism doled out by President Barack Obama and leaders in Congress, who have publicly scolded companies for accepting federal bailout money, then proceeding with meetings and events that had been scheduled to take place in Las Vegas and other "luxury" resort destinations.
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'Grassroots Army' Needed to Fight Negative Perceptions
from MeetingsNet
Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, today unveiled the Industry Coalition’s new information and advertising campaign called "Meetings Mean Business" to fight "irresponsible attacks" from the government and the media that are causing what he characterized as massive cancellations of meetings, incentives, and events, as well as postponements of future bookings.
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