§2121. Congressional findings; establishment of policy

(a) The Congress finds that-

(1) the tourism and recreation industries are important to the United States, not only because of the numbers of people they serve and the vast human, financial, and physical resources they employ, but because of the great benefits tourism, recreation, and related activities confer on individuals and on society as a whole;

(2) the Federal Government for many years has encouraged tourism and recreation implicitly in its statutory commitments to the shorter workyear and to the national passenger transportation system, and explicitly in a number of legislative enactments to promote tourism and support development of outdoor recreation, cultural attractions, and historic and natural heritage resources;

(3) as incomes and leisure time continue to increase, and as our economic and political systems develop more complex global relationships, tourism and recreation will become ever more important aspects of our daily lives; and

(4) the existing extensive Federal Government involvement in tourism, recreation, and other related activities needs to be better coordinated to effectively respond to the national interest in tourism and recreation and, where appropriate, to meet the needs of State and local governments and the private sector.

(b) There is established a national tourism policy to-

(1) optimize the contributions of the tourism and recreation industries to the position of the United States with respect to international competitiveness, economic prosperity, full employment, and the balance of payments;

(2) increase United States export earnings from United States tourism and transportation services traded internationally;

(3) ensure the orderly growth and development of tourism;

(4) coordinate and encourage the development of the tourism industry in rural communities which-

(A) have been severely affected by the decline of agriculture, family farming, or the extraction or manufacturing industries, or by the closing of military bases; and

(B) have the potential necessary to support and sustain an economy based on tourism;

(5) promote increased and more effective investment in international tourism by the States, local governments, and cooperative tourism marketing programs;

(6) make the opportunity for and benefits of tourism and recreation in the United States universally accessible to residents of the United States and foreign countries and insure that present and future generations are afforded adequate tourism and recreation resources;

(7) contribute to personal growth, health, education, and intercultural appreciation of the geography, history, and ethnicity of the United States;

(8) encourage the free and welcome entry of individuals traveling to the United States, in order to enhance international understanding and goodwill, consistent with immigration laws, the laws protecting the public health, and laws governing the importation of goods into the United States;

(9) eliminate unnecessary trade barriers to the United States tourism industry operating throughout the world;

(10) encourage competition in the tourism industry and maximum consumer choice through the continued viability of the retail travel agent industry and the independent tour operator industry;

(11) promote the continued development and availability of alternative personal payment mechanisms which facilitate national and international travel;

(12) promote quality, integrity, and reliability in all tourism and tourism-related services offered to visitors to the United States;

(13) preserve the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation as a living part of community life and development, and insure future generations an opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the rich heritage of the Nation;

(14) insure the compatibility of tourism and recreation with other national interests in energy development and conservation, environmental protection, and the judicious use of natural resources;

(15) assist in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data which accurately measure the economic and social impact of tourism to and within the United States, in order to facilitate planning in the public and private sectors; and

(16) harmonize, to the maximum extent possible, all Federal activities in support of tourism and recreation with the needs of the general public and the States, territories, local governments, and the tourism and recreation industry, and to give leadership to all concerned with tourism, recreation, and national heritage preservation in the United States.

( Pub. L. 87–63, title I, §101, formerly §1, June 29, 1961, 75 Stat. 129 ; renumbered and amended Pub. L. 97–63, §2(a), Oct. 16, 1981, 95 Stat. 1011 ; Pub. L. 102–372, §5, Sept. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 1175 .)

Amendments

1992-Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 102–372, §5(1), amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (1) read as follows: "optimize the contribution of the tourism and recreation industries to economic prosperity, full employment, and the international balance of payments of the United States;".

Subsec. (b)(2) to (16). Pub. L. 102–372, §5(2), (3), added pars. (2) to (5) and redesignated former pars. (2) to (12) as (6) to (16), respectively.

1981-Pub. L. 97–63 substituted provisions setting out a detailed 4-point recital of Congressional findings and establishing a 12-point national tourism policy for provisions setting out the former declaration of purpose of this chapter which was to strengthen the domestic and foreign commerce of the United States, and promote friendly understanding and appreciation of the United States by encouraging foreign residents to visit the United States and by facilitating international travel generally.

Effective Date of 1981 Amendment

Section 6 of Pub. L. 97–63 provided that: "The amendments made by this Act [see Short Title of 1981 Amendment note below] shall take effect October 1, 1981."

Short Title of 1996 Amendment

Pub. L. 104–288, §1, Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3402 , provided that: "This Act [enacting sections 2124 and 2141 to 2141f of this title, amending sections 2122 and 2124c of this title and section 4727 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, and repealing sections 2123 to 2123d, 2124 to 2124b, and 2126 to 2129 of this title] may be cited as the 'United States National Tourism Organization Act of 1996'."

Short Title of 1992 Amendment

Section 1(a) of Pub. L. 102–372 provided that: "This Act [enacting sections 2123a to 2123d and 2124c of this title, amending this section and sections 2122, 2123, 2124 to 2124b, and 2126 of this title, repealing sections 2123a and 2123b of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 2122 and 2124 of this title] may be cited as the 'Tourism Policy and Export Promotion Act of 1992'."

Short Title of 1981 Amendment

Section 1 of Pub. L. 97–63 provided that: "This Act [enacting sections 2123b, 2124a, and 2124b of this title, amending this section and sections 2122, 2123, 2123a, 2124, and 2126 of this title, repealing section 2128 of this title, and enacting, amending, and repealing provisions set out as notes under this section] may be cited as the 'National Tourism Policy Act'."

Short Title

Section 1 of Pub. L. 87–63, as amended by Pub. L. 97–63, §2(a), Oct. 16, 1981, 95 Stat. 1011 , provided: "That this Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the 'International Travel Act of 1961'."

Section 8, formerly §7, of Pub. L. 87–63, as renumbered Pub. L. 91–477, §5, Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1072 , which had formerly authorized the citation of Pub. L. 87–63 as the "International Travel Act of 1961", was repealed by Pub. L. 97–63, §5(b), Oct. 16, 1981, 95 Stat. 1018 .

Tourism Policy and Export Promotion; Congressional Statement of Findings

Section 2 of Pub. L. 102–372 provided that: "The Congress finds that-

"(1) the travel and tourism industry is the second largest retail or service industry in the United States;

"(2) travel and tourism receipts make up over 6.7 percent of the United States gross national product;

"(3) in 1991, the travel and tourism industry generated about six million jobs directly and about two million five hundred thousand indirectly;

"(4) travel and tourism expenditures in 1991 were approximately $352,000,000,000;

"(5) forty-two million international visitors spent approximately $64,700,000,000 in the United States in 1991;

"(6) travel and tourism services ranked as the largest United States business services export in 1991, providing a United States travel trade balance of $16,800,000,000;

"(7) many local communities with significant tourism potential are unable to realize the economic and employment opportunities that tourism provides because they lack the necessary local resources and expertise needed to induce tourism trade;

"(8) increased efforts directed at the promotion of rural tourism will contribute to the economic development of rural America and further the conservation and promotion of natural, scenic, historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, and recreational resources for future generations of Americans and foreign visitors;

"(9) foreign tourists entering the United States are frequently faced with unnecessary delays at the United States border;

"(10) advanced technologies, industrial targeting, the industrialization of the Third World, and the flight of some United States manufacturing capacity to overseas locations have affected the international competitiveness of the United States;

"(11) exporting those goods and services which United States industry can produce at a comparative cost advantage, such as travel and tourism services, will be in the Nation's long-term strategic interest; and

"(12) the emergence of democratic governments in the formerly Communist nations of Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union provide new opportunities for United States firms engaged in both the inbound and outbound tourism markets."

National Tourism Resources Review Commission

Pub. L. 91–477, §6, Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1073 , provided that:

"(a) [Establishment; membership]. There is established a commission to be known as the National Tourism Resources Review Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as the 'Commission') composed of fifteen members as follows:

"(1) One representative of the Department of Commerce designated by the Secretary of Commerce.

"(2) One representative of the Department of the Interior designated by the Secretary of the Interior.

"(3) One representative of the Department of State designated by the Secretary of State.

"(4) One representative of the Department of Transportation designated by the Secretary of Transportation.

"(5) Eleven individuals appointed by the President from private life who are informed about and concerned with the improvement, development, and promotion of United States tourism resources and opportunities or who are otherwise experienced in tourism research, promotion, or planning. The President shall designate one of the individuals appointed by him to serve as Chairman of the Commission.

"(b) [Study and investigation; report to President and Congress; recommendations; termination]. The Commission shall make a full and complete study and investigation for the purpose of-

"(1) determining the domestic travel needs of the people of the United States and of visitors from other countries at the present time and to the year 1980;

"(2) determining the travel resources of the United States available to satisfy such needs now and to the year 1980;

"(3) determining policies and programs which will insure that the domestic travel needs of the present and the future are adequately and efficiently met;

"(4) determining a recommended program of Federal assistance to the States in promoting domestic travel; and

"(5) determining whether a separate agency of the Government should be established, or whether an existing department, agency, or instrumentality within the Government should be designated, to consolidate and coordinate tourism research, planning, and development activities presently performed by different existing agencies of the Government.

The Commission shall submit a comprehensive report of its activities and the results of such study and investigation, together with its recommendations with respect thereto, to the President and to the Congress not later than two years after the first meeting of the Commission. The Commission shall cease to exist sixty days after the date of the submission of its comprehensive report. The comprehensive report of the Commission shall propose such legislative enactments and administrative actions as in its judgment are necessary to carry out its recommendations.

"(c) [Secretarial, clerical, and other assistance by Secretary of Commerce; information and assistance by Governmental departments and agencies]. The Secretary of Commerce shall make available to the Commission such secretarial, clerical, and other assistance as the Commission may require to carry out its functions under this section. The Commission is authorized to request from any department, agency, or independent instrumentality of the Government any information and assistance it deems necessary to carry out its functions under this section; and each such department, agency, and instrumentality is authorized to cooperate with the Commission and, to the extent permitted by law, to furnish such information and assistance to the Commission upon request made by its Chairman.

"(d) [Powers of Commission]. In order to carry out the provisions of this section, the Commission is authorized-

"(1) to make, promulgate, issue, rescind, and amend rules and regulations governing the manner of the operations of the Commission;

"(2) to appoint and fix the compensation of such officers and employees as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section and to prescribe their authority and duties; and

"(3) to obtain the services of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.

"(e) [Compensation and travel expenses]. (1) Members of the Commission from private life, while engaged in the performance of their duties as members of the Commission, shall receive compensation at a rate to be fixed by the President, not to exceed $100 each day, including traveltime, and shall, while so serving away from their homes or regular places of business, be entitled to travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons in the Government service employed intermittently.

"(2) Members of the Commission who are officers or employees of the United States shall serve without additional compensation, but shall be entitled to travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons in the Government service employed intermittently.

"(f) [Authorization of appropriations]. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums, not to exceed $750,000, as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section."