Hon. Michael G. Oxley: “H.R. 2579 establishes a new, privately funded, and privately managed tourism organization to represent and promote…”

“H.R. 2579 establishes a new, privately funded, and privately managed tourism organization to represent and promote international travel and tourism to the United States. I would note that in 1993, Ohio benefited from $443 million in travel and tourism receipts, ranking 18th among the States. This bill is about less government and better government--by the people and for the people. It repeals the statutory language authorizing the largely ineffective U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, and privatizes its tourism functions as much as possible into a nationwide private organization--the U.S. National Tourism Organization, or USNTO. My first concern when I first reviewed this legislation, is why the Federal Government needed to be involved at all in establishing a private tourism organization. This legislation is important because it allows the Government to play the role of honest broker in establishing a balanced and unbiased organization. Operating in a highly competitive marketplace, there is currently just not enough trust among individual travel and tourism interests to allow any single group to initiate an industry-wide tourism promotion association.”