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Statement from Sabre Holdings Chairman and CEO Sam Gilliland, Newly Appointed Vice Chair of the U.S. Tourism and Travel Advisory Board

Dépèche transmise le 19 janvier 2012 par Business Wire

Statement from Sabre Holdings Chairman and CEO Sam Gilliland, Newly Appointed Vice Chair of the U.S. Tourism and Travel Advisory Board

SOUTHLAKE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This morning, President Obama signed an Executive Order and announced new initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in the United States. The U.S. tourism and travel industry is a substantial component of U.S. GDP and employment, representing 2.7% of GDP and 7.5 million jobs in 2010 – with international travel to the United States supporting 1.2 million jobs alone.

“It further accentuates the near immediacy of jobs creation driven simply by making the U.S. more attractive to international visitors.”

The travel and tourism industry projects that more than 1 million American jobs could be created over the next decade if the U.S. increased its share of the international travel market. Today’s announcement offers important steps to bolster job creation through a range of steps to better promote the United States as a tourism destination and improve secure visa processing. This is the most recent of a series of executive actions the President has announced to put Americans back to work and strengthen the U.S. economy.

Also today, Sabre Holdings Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sam Gilliland was appointed vice-chair of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB). The U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board serves as the advisory body to the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and tourism industry in the United States.

“It is incredibly gratifying to see the President prioritizing travel and tourism as part of his economic agenda, given the critical role that the industry has and will continue to play in the economic recovery of our country,” said Gilliland. “It further accentuates the near immediacy of jobs creation driven simply by making the U.S. more attractive to international visitors.

“The new Travel and Tourism Advisory Board stands ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work on a National Travel & Tourism Strategy. It's a fantastic opportunity for private / public collaboration that can make this critical initiative a tour de force. We're grateful for the opportunity to showcase the power of travel as an engine for economic growth.”

This will be Gilliland’s third term as a member of TTAB.

Among the issues Gilliland has worked on and supported is a recommendation to streamline the U.S. visa system.

Gilliland, along with other travel and tourism leaders, believe increasing travel to the U.S. is the most effective form of economic stimulus, but our current visa system effectively serves as a big, self-imposed barrier. Its high costs, uncertainties, delays and inconveniences are driving away millions of potential visitors. By fixing this process and making it more efficient, more overseas travelers will be attracted to travel to the United States, add billions to our economy, generate billions in revenues for communities across the nation, and create more than 1 million jobs.

For more information on the newly sworn in TTAB, please click here http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2012/01/19/coinciding-presidential-visit-secretary-bryson-welcomes-new-travel-an.

Additional information regarding the President’s Executive Order is available here http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/19/we-can-t-wait-president-obama-takes-actions-increase-travel-and-tourism-.