NO FEAR: Another example of how the business travel and hospitality industries are countering the aggressive anti-business drivel coming out of D.C.. . . Response from LA Inc. below. . .
Dear Member,
Recently, the U.S. Congress introduced legislation that threatens to limit and regulate travel activities among companies that have received federal assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Transparency Reporting Act. Unfortunately, companies that are not under the TARP Act are now cancelling their meetings and events due to media and political attention.
These Congressional actions could affect the livelihood of thousands of people in this city, from the hotel worker to the taxi driver, tour operators and museums workers, food servers at LA restaurants, and countless people in between. It is important that LA INC. members now join together to combat the negative effects these laws could have on the meetings and tourism industry.
The meetings industry is vital to the success of cities across America. Meetings and events are responsible for nearly 15% of all travel in the U.S. and creates $101 billion in spending, one million jobs and nearly $16 billion in tax revenue at the federal, state and local level. In LA alone, the tourism industry—fueled by the meetings industry—accounts for the employment of 250,000 people. LA INC. has joined the U.S. Travel Association in its efforts to oppose the actions by Congress. The U.S. Travel Association’s new “Meetings Mean Business” campaign is just what our industry needs to voice our concerns. We are calling on our members to help spread the word about how important the meetings industry is to our local economy. When meetings fail to take place in LA, everyone suffers. I encourage each of you to be an advocate for business travel and let our employees, friends and families know how this industry, the second largest in the city, impacts each person’s life.
We must all work together to tell the story of this great city. You can write a letter to your Congress member and let him or her know how much this industry is a part of our livelihood. Below you will find links to the list of Congress members, as well as a sample letter you may use to send to your Congress representative to discuss this very important issue. I have also included additional material for your reference. Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
Mark Liberman
President & CEO
LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau
Print | posted on Friday, March 13, 2009 5:03 PM