H.R. 7820House117th Congress (2021-2023)In Committee

Travel and Tourism Act

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Updated February 8, 2026 at 3:32 PM UTC

The Travel and Tourism Act directs the Secretary of Commerce to set annual international visitor and tourism‑revenue goals, develop a long‑term strategy, and create recovery plans for COVID‑19 and other major disruptions. It requires coordination with industry groups, other federal agencies, and a newly created Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and mandates regular collection and public reporting of travel‑related data.

Key Provisions

The Secretary of Commerce must set yearly targets for the number of international visitors and the total value of travel‑and‑tourism commerce, and develop recommendations and timelines to meet them.
The Secretary must work with the Tourism Policy Council, the National Travel and Tourism Office, Brand USA, the new Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and private‑sector partners to shape policy and identify needed resources, regulatory changes, and private‑sector involvement.
Within one year of receiving appropriations, the Secretary must create and implement a COVID‑19 recovery plan for the travel industry, and later develop additional recovery strategies for other major disruptions such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks, each with cost‑benefit analyses.
An annual forecasting report on international visitor numbers and spending must be produced, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Travel and Tourism Office must regularly update and publish travel‑and‑tourism data, including domestic travel trends.
Every ten years the Secretary, with the Advisory Board and Tourism Policy Council, must submit a 10‑year travel‑and‑tourism strategy outlining goals, needed resources, and suggested statutory or regulatory changes.
The bill establishes a United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, whose members are appointed for two‑year terms from the travel industry, to advise the Secretary on policies, emerging issues, and solutions for the sector.
Subject to funding, the Secretary must collect and publicly release aggregate data on domestic travel between U.S. points.

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.

Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee

May 19, 2022

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

May 18, 2022

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Energy and Commerce Committee

May 18, 2022

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.

Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee

May 19, 2022

Floor Debate

4 members

What members said about H.R. 7820 on the floor

2 Republicans2 Democrats

Rep. Janice D. SchakowskyD-IL-9 · Sep 28, 2022

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6965) to promote travel and tourism in the United States, and for other purposes, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent…

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6965) to promote travel and tourism in the United States, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6965.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6965, the Visit America Act.

Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, America's travel and tourism industry has been seriously upended. The pandemic caused a 48 percent reduction for the industry in 2020. The bipartisan Visit America Act is the latest bill that the House has brought to the floor to help turn the tide for a sector that has not rebounded as quickly as some others.

From the Committee on Energy and Commerce, we are so happy that we are able to bring this to the floor.

While travel has certainly increased over the last year, it is still significantly lower than previously before the pandemic. As an example, business travel spending is on the rise, but it is still expected to be 50 percent below 2019 levels. In the meantime, the number of travelers visiting the United States from overseas fell by 79 percent in September 2021 as compared to that same month in 2019.

These are significant reductions that are impacting not only companies directly involved in the tourism and travel industry but small businesses all across the Nation that rely on travelers to keep them in business.

Today, the United States is the only G20 country not to have a high- ranking official focusing on the travel and tourism industry. This has prevented the industry from producing a coordinated approach to recovery of the industry and to make us more competitive with the rest of the world.

H.R. 6965 addresses this deficiency and provides the industry with a path forward for continuing recovery and growth in the future. This bill establishes the role of the assistant secretary of commerce for travel and tourism at the Department of Commerce. It also requires the assistant secretary to develop and implement a COVID-19 pandemic recovery strategy, as well as strategic plans for future disruptions that hopefully we aren't going to see.

The bill also requires the Department of Commerce to develop a 10- year travel and tourism strategy, as well as provides statutory authority for the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, which will aid the assistant secretary in developing and implementing these important strategies.

H.R. 6965 passed out of the Committee on Energy and Commerce last week unanimously, 56-0. I commend the tireless and passionate efforts put forth by Representative Titus, the author of this legislation. Without her and the good work done by Representatives Soto, Case, Kuster, and the late Don Young--God bless his heart--we would not have gotten this agenda done. I also thank Chairmen Nadler and Meeks for working with us to get this to the House floor today.

I know the Senate has also been working on travel and tourism legislation and is moving forward with a package of bills that includes the Visit America Act. Although there are some technical differences between the two bills, my hope is that we can get together and work together as quickly as possible and get this legislation passed.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, September 23, 2022.

Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr.

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Pallone: This letter is to advise you that

the Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to

review the provisions in H.R. 6965, the ``Visit America

Act,'' that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction. I appreciate

your consulting with us on those provisions. The Judiciary

Committee is willing to forgo action on H.R. 6965, with the

understanding that we do not thereby waive any future

jurisdictional claim over those provisions or their subject

matters.

In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar

legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the

right to request an appropriate number of conferees to

address any concerns with these or similar provisions that

may arise in conference.

Please place this letter into the Congressional Record

during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank

you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked

regarding this matter and others between our committees.

Sincerely,

Jerrold Nadler,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case).

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support this legislation because it is so important, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Rep. Brett GuthrieR-KY-2 · Sep 28, 2022

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6965, the Visit America Act. The bill along with H.R. 7820, the Travel and Tourism Act, from…

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6965, the Visit America Act.

The bill along with H.R. 7820, the Travel and Tourism Act, from Representative Dunn, and H.R. 4594, the Restoring Brand USA Act, from Representative Bilirakis, have represented bipartisan efforts to assist our tourism sector with economic recovery post-COVID-19.

Representative Bilirakis is not here speaking about this bill. He is home in Tampa, Florida, and represents the Tampa Bay area, as all of us know. Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers are with his community in Florida and the other States that have to deal with the remnants of the rain. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Back to the bill, while I am pleased that Representative Bilirakis' Brand USA legislation was signed into law this year, more work and bipartisan efforts are needed to build upon Representative Bilirakis' efforts to increase tourism.

Without question, the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for all industries, but the travel and tourism industry was hit especially hard.

According to testimony by the U.S. Travel Association before the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, at the end of 2021, international travel spending was 78 percent below prepandemic levels.

This bipartisan legislation can support the U.S. travel and tourism industry and address the declining percentage of international visitors to the United States. The Visit America Act will help by directing the Department of Commerce to develop a 10-year travel and tourism strategy with annual goals for the number of international visitors to the United States.

Again, I thank the sponsors and cosponsors of all of these bills that we have considered at the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I would like to give special recognition to our colleague, Representative Bilirakis, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and co-chair of the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, who, as I noted, is back home, duly focusing on the hurricane response and serving his constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, we have the greatest country in the world. I love when people want to come see the beauty of our great land and meet our great people. We have a wonderful opportunity for people to come see our country. The tourism industry is a great industry, as are the people who serve in it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Rep. Ed CaseD-HI-1 · Sep 28, 2022

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6965, the Visit America Act. U.S. travel and tourism is one of our country's core industries. Pre- COVID, it generated some $2.6 trillion in annual…

Rep. Thomas P. TiffanyR-WI-7 · Sep 28, 2022

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued May 18, 2022

117th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 7820

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 18, 2022

Mr. Dunn (for himself, Mr. Soto, and Ms. Salazar) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Commerce to identify the resources, regulatory changes, and private sector engagement needed to achieve annual travel and tourism goals, including a travel and tourism recovery strategy from COVID–19, and to prepare a strategy to address potential future pandemics, and for other purposes.

Short title; table of contents

(a)

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Travel and Tourism Act.

(b)

Table of contents

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Responsibilities of the Secretary of Commerce.

Sec. 3. Travel and tourism strategy.

Sec. 4. United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

Sec. 5. Data on domestic travel and tourism.

Sec. 6. Defined term.

Responsibilities of the Secretary of Commerce

(a)

Visitation goals

The Secretary of Commerce shall—

(1)

establish an annual goal, consistent with the goals of the travel and tourism strategy developed pursuant to section 3(1), for—

(A)

the number of international visitors to the United States; and

(B)

the value of travel and tourism commerce;

(2)

develop recommendations for achieving the annual goals established pursuant to paragraph (1);

(3)

ensure that travel and tourism policy is developed in consultation with—

(A)

the Tourism Policy Council;

(C)

the National Travel and Tourism Office;

(D)

Brand USA;

(E)

the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board; and

(F)

travel industry partners, including public and private destination marketing organizations, travel and tourism suppliers, and gig economy representatives from these industries;

(4)

establish short, medium, and long-term timelines for implementing the recommendations developed pursuant to paragraph (2);

(5)

conduct Federal agency needs assessments, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, to identify the resources, statutory or regulatory changes, and private sector engagement needed to achieve the annual commerce goals; and

(6)

provide assessments and recommendations to—

(A)

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;

(B)

the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and

(C)

the public through a publicly accessible website.

(b)

Domestic travel and tourism

The Secretary, to the extent feasible, shall—

(1)

develop recommendations and goals to support and enhance domestic tourism, separated by business and leisure; and

(2)

engage public and private stakeholders to support domestic tourism.

(c)

Workforce

The Secretary shall—

(1)

consult with the Secretary of Labor to develop strategies and best practices for improving the timeliness and reliability of travel and tourism workforce data;

(2)

consult with the Secretary of Labor and the Bureau of Economic Analysis to improve travel and tourism industry data;

(3)

provide recommendations for policy enhancements and efficiencies; and

(4)

provide recommendations for policy to support and grow the gig economy as it relates to travel and tourism.

(d)

Recovery strategy

(1)

Initial recovery strategy

Not later than 1 year after amounts are appropriated to accomplish the purposes of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with public and private stakeholders identified in subsection (a)(3) and public health officials, shall develop and implement a COVID–19 public health emergency recovery strategy to assist the United States travel and tourism industry to quickly recover from the pandemic.

(2)

Future recovery strategies

After assisting in the implementation of the strategy developed pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate public and private stakeholders, shall develop additional recovery strategies, including but not limited to a public-private partnership, for the travel and tourism industry in anticipation of other unforeseen catastrophic events that would significantly affect the travel and tourism industry, such as hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, and pandemics.

(3)

Cost-benefit analysis

In developing the COVID–19 public health emergency recovery strategy under paragraph (1) and additional recovery strategies for the travel and tourism industry under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall conduct cost-benefit analyses that take into account the health and economic effects of public health mitigation measures on the travel and tourism industry.

(e)

Reporting requirements

(1)

Forecasting report

The Secretary shall produce an annual forecasting report on the travel and tourism industry, to the extent feasible, which shall include current and anticipated international inbound volume and spending, taking into account the lasting effects of the COVID–19 public health emergency and the impact of the recovery strategy implemented pursuant to subsection (d)(1).

(2)

Bureau of economic analysis

The Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis should annually update, to the extent feasible, the Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts, including State level travel and tourism spending data.

(3)

National travel and tourism office

The Director of the National Travel and Tourism Office—

(A)

in partnership with the Bureau of Economic Analysis, shall report international arrival and spending data on a regular monthly schedule, which shall be made available to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and to the public through a publicly available website; and

(B)

shall include questions in the Survey of International Air Travelers regarding wait-times, visits to public lands, and State data, to the extent applicable.

Travel and tourism strategy

Not less frequently than once every 10 years, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and the Tourism Policy Council, shall develop and submit to Congress a 10-year travel and tourism strategy, which shall include—

(1)

the establishment of goals with respect to the number of annual international visitors to the United States and the annual value of travel and tourism commerce during such 10-year period;

(2)

the resources needed to achieve the goals established pursuant to paragraph (1); and

(3)

recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes that would be necessary to achieve such goals.

United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board

Section 3 of the Act entitled An Act to encourage travel in the United States, and for other purposes (15 U.S.C. 1546) is amended—

(1)

by amending the section heading to read as follows: United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board; advisory committee; and

(2)

by striking The Secretary of Commerce is authorized and inserting the following:

(a)

United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board

(1)

In general

There is established the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (referred to in this subsection as the Board), the members of which shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce for 2-year terms from among companies and organizations in the travel and tourism industry.

(2)

Executive director

The Assistant Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development shall serve as the Executive Director of the Board.

(3)

Executive secretariat

The Director of the National Travel and Tourism Office of the International Trade Administration shall serve as the Executive Secretariat for the Board.

(4)

Functions

The Board’s Charter shall specify that the Board will—

(A)

serve as the advisory body to the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and tourism industry in the United States;

(B)

advise the Secretary of Commerce on government policies and programs that affect the United States travel and tourism industry;

(C)

offer counsel on current and emerging issues;

(D)

provide a forum for discussing and proposing solutions to problems related to the travel and tourism industry; and

(E)

provide advice regarding the domestic travel and tourism industry as an economic engine.

(b)

Advisory committee for promotion of tourist travel

The Secretary of Commerce is authorized

Data on domestic travel and tourism

The Secretary of Commerce, subject to the availability of appropriations, shall collect and make public aggregate data on domestic travel and tourism trends by individuals traveling between points within the United States.

Defined term

In this Act, the term COVID–19 public health emergency—

(1)

means the public health emergency first declared on January 31, 2020, by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) with respect to COVID–19; and

(2)

includes any renewal of such declaration pursuant to such section 319.