Dear Senators Inhofe and Boxer, Congressmen Shuster and DeFazio, and Members of the Surface Transportation Authorization Conference Committee:

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Harvey Hampton
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1 November 16, 2015 The Honorable James M. Inhofe 205 Russell Senate Office Building United States Senate The Honorable Bill Shuster 2268 Rayburn House Office Building United States House of Representatives The Honorable Barbara Boxer 112 Hart Senate Office Building United States Senate The Honorable Peter A. DeFazio 2134 Rayburn House Office Building United States House of Representatives Dear Senators Inhofe and Boxer, Congressmen Shuster and DeFazio, and Members of the Surface Transportation Authorization Conference Committee: As diverse leaders of America s travel industry, we thank you for your work to enact a multi-year surface transportation authorization bill that will provide much needed certainty and accelerate investment in key travel-related projects. To that end, we strongly urge you to include in the final conference agreement provisions contained in sections 1201, 1202 and 1438 of the House-passed bill that encourage federal, state and local transportation entities to consult with travel industry leaders and develop long-term transportation plans to enhance tourism. We also urge you not to include in the final conference agreement provisions in the Senate-passed Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act (DRIVE Act) that divert Customs and Border Protection (CBP) passenger user fees to pay for federal highway and transit programs. In 2014, U.S. residents and international visitors logged more than 2 billion leisure and business trips using our nation s transportation network. These trips generated $2.1 trillion in economic activity and supported more than 15 million American jobs making travel a top ten employer in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Unfortunately, because of our nation s outdated transportation infrastructure, travel in America is slowing down and its future growth is in jeopardy. Within the next 10 years, Labor Day-like traffic will plague U.S. highways on the average day of the week. Within the next six years, America s top- 30 U.S. airports will have weekly passenger volumes equal to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Without improvements to our nation s transportation system, the U.S. economy could lose $23 billion in travel spending each year, which would support more than 208,000 American jobs. Provisions in the House-passed Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015 (STRR Act) will encourage federal, state and local transportation entities to develop, in consultation with industry leaders, long-term investment strategies to enhance tourism, and improve America s travel infrastructure. These provisions include: U.S. TRAVEL ASSOCIATION TEL FAX New York Avenue, NW Suite ustravel.org

2 Section 1201(5)(A)(iii) and Section 1202(2)(A)(iii): These sections add tourism to the list of long-term planning considerations for states and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). The travel industry is concerned that state and MPO long-term improvement plans fail to adequately consider tourism during the planning process. In a recent review of State Transportation Improvement Plans (STIPs) for 40 states, the U.S. Travel Association found that only eight included any mention of tourism. The language in this section will help ensure that these investment plans include strategies to enhance tourism and improve traveler mobility. Section 1201(4): This section encourages MPO s to consult with local travel leaders in the development of their long-term transportation plans. This language follows the recommendations of a 2007 study by the Transportation Research Board that called for increased participation of travel and tourism stakeholders in the long-term planning process. Section 1438: This section directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop a National Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Strategic Plan to identify the most significant barriers to long-haul passenger travel; and to develop investment priorities and best practices to improve long-haul travel mobility. Given travel s economic importance and its inherent reliance on local, regional and national mobility, these provisions will improve the effectiveness of transportation planning and investment at all levels of government. In fact, Congress has recognized the value of this multi-layered approach to transportation planning in previous authorizations. For example, MAP-21 directed DOT to create a National Freight Strategic Plan and strengthened the freight planning requirements at the state and MPO level. While the above sections will enhance travel mobility, we remain concerned that an extension of CBP passenger fees in the DRIVE Act will divert precious resources away from improving the already underfunded customs and entry process at major U.S. gateway airports. The travel industry has worked closely with CBP over the past three years to reduce the unacceptable passenger processing wait times at our nation s airports that serve to discourage inbound travel and tourism to the United States. This has included a significant investment in technologies like automated and mobile passport control and Global Entry kiosks that have improved the passenger experience entering the country. Nevertheless, we know that in order to fully address the demand at our ports of entry, CBP may need to hire hundreds of new officers. By diverting the Customs user fees to pay for highways as proposed by the Senate, it will tie CBP s hands and jeopardize the growth in travel and trade that is needed to create millions of American jobs across the country. As the U.S. strives to remain competitive in a global economy, travel will play an increasingly important role in American business and life. But without strong federal, state and local leadership to improve travel mobility, the U.S. will fall further behind. We thank you for your continued work to improve America s transportation infrastructure and your support for America s travel and tourism industry. Sincerely,

3 Alyeska Resort Alyeska, AK All Alaska Tours Anchorage, AK Northern Alaska Tour Company Fairbanks, AL Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism Gulf Shores, AL Best Western Pony Soldier Inn & Suites Flagstaff, AZ Visit Mesa Mesa, AZ General Growth Properties-America's Premier Shopping Places Scottsdale, AZ Surf City USA - Huntington Beach Marketing & Visitors Huntington Beach, CA Citadel Outlets EagleRider Motorcycle Rental & Tours Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board Schneider Publishing Mammoth Lakes Tourism Mammoth Lakes, CA California Travel Association Menlo Park, CA Visit San Luis Obispo County Paso Robles, CA Visit Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA California Association of Bed & Breakfast Inns Sacramento, CA California Hotel & Lodging Association Sacramento, CA California Parlor Car Tours Extranomical Adventures, Inc. Visit Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Santa Monica Travel & Tourism Santa Monica, CA Society of Independent Show Organizers Santa Monica, CA B&W Limo Van Nuys, CA San Mateo County/Silicon Valley Convention and Visitors Burlingame, CA South Coast Plaza Costa Mesa, CA San Francisco Travel Association The Hiltons of Union Square Visit Stockton Stockton, CA Vacaville Conference & Visitors Vacaville, CA

4 Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Colorado Springs, CO Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours, LLC Fort Collins, CO Xanterra Parks & Resorts Greenwood Village, CO American Bus Association American Recreation Coalition Carey International Destination DC National Park Hospitality Association U.S. Travel Association Zimple Rentals, Inc. Boynton Beach, FL Accor Hotels Doral, FL National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers Ft. Lauderdale, FL Experience Kissimmee Kissimmee, FL The Greater MIAMI Convention & Visitors Miami, FL Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Orlando, FL Visit Orlando Orlando, FL Visit Panama City Beach Panama City Beach, FL Global Hospitality Marketing Link St. Petersburg, FL Mise en Place Tampa, FL Tampa International Airport Tampa, FL Visit Tampa Bay Tampa, FL Macon-Bibb County Convention & Visitors Macon, GA Southeast Tourism Society Roswell, GA Pearl Harbor Historic Sites Honolulu, HI CityPASS Victor, ID Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Aurora, IL Chicago's First Lady Cruises Choose Chicago Premier Rail Collection Professional Convention Management Association

5 Shoreline Sightseeing The Magnificent Mile Association Visit Lake County Gurnee, IL Chicago's North Shore Convention & Visitors Skokie, IL Visit French Lick West Baden French Lick, IN Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette Lafayette, IN National Tour Association Lexington, KY Louisiana Office of Tourism Baton Rouge, LA Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Lake Charles, LA The Court of Two Sisters New Orleans, LA Amtrak Vacations Beverly, MA Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Centreville, MA Marriott International, Inc. Bethesda, MD Howard County Tourism & Promotion Ellicott City, MD Visit Frederick Frederick, MD Marshall Hotels & Resorts Salisbury, MD Experience Grand Rapids Grand Rapids, MI Discover Kalamazoo Kalamazoo, MI Roseville Visitors Association Roseville, MN Visit Duluth Duluth, MN Maritz Travel Fenton, MO St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission St. Louis, MO Visit North Carolina Cary, NC Visit Charlotte Charlotte, NC Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Raleigh, NC North Dakota Tourism Division Bismarck, ND Amadeo Travel Solutions Verona, NJ Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Albuquerque, NM Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Las Vegas, NV MGM Resorts International Las Vegas, NV Papillon Group Las Vegas, NV

6 TourHERO Brooklyn, NY Finger Lakes Wine Country Tourism Marketing Association Corning, NY NYC & Company New York, NY United States Tour Operators Association New York, NY Visit Buffalo Niagara Buffalo, NY Experience Columbus Columbus, OH Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma Travel Industry Association Oklahoma City, OK Travel Oregon Salem, OR Travel Lane County Eugene, OR Travel Portland Portland, OR Destination Gettysburg Gettysburg, PA Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Harrisburg, PA Discover Lancaster Lancaster, PA Visit Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA Pocono Mountains Visitors Stroudsburg, PA Discover Newport Newport, RI Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Providence, RI U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council Hilton Head Island, SC Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce/Convention & Visitors Myrtle Beach, SC South Dakota Department of Tourism Pierre, SD Sioux Falls Convention & Visitors Sioux Falls, SD Memphis Convention & Visitors Memphis, TN Texas Travel Industry Association Austin, TX Dallas Convention & Visitors Dallas, TX International Association of Exhibitions and Events Dallas, TX Meeting Professionals International Dallas, TX Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Fort Worth, TX Irving Convention & Visitors Irving, TX Utah's Canyon Country Monticello, UT Goulding's Lodge & Tours Monument Valley, UT

7 Convention Industry Council Alexandria, VA Interstate Hotels & Resorts Arlington, VA Culpeper Tourism and Economic Development Culpeper, VA Trailways Fairfax, VA B-FOR International Fredericksburg, VA Visit Loudoun Leesburg, VA D.K. Shifflet & Associates, Ltd. McLean, VA Richmond Region Tourism Richmond, VA Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism Bellingham, WA Visit Spokane Spokane, WA Visit Vancouver USA Vancouver, WA Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Green Bay, WI Wyoming Office of Tourism Cheyenne, WY San Diego Tourism Authority San Diego, CA Student & Youth Travel Association McLean, VA Visit Fairfax Fairfax, VA

Lower Income Journey to Work Market Share From American Community Survey

Lower Income Journey to Work Market Share From American Community Survey 2006-2010 Table 1: Overall National Data Table 2: Car, Truck or Van Table 3: Transit Table 4: Metrics Table 1 Work Trip Market Share: