Rep. Grayson Works To Boost Tourism In Central Florida

October 7, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) – Breaking through years of delay, Congressman Alan Grayson has gotten Congress to pass the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (S. 1023), and send it to the President for his signature. The bill passed this evening.

The Travel Promotion Act will establish a non-profit corporation to promote travel to the United States. The bill gives the new organization $200 million a year in public and private funding, all to promote travel.

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Congressman Grayson said, “This is the best thing to happen to the Central Florida economy in years. It’s a blockbuster. Orange County has the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Florida has Visit Florida. This will be a worldwide extension of the work they do. America now will promote Florida tourism to the world. A coordinated national effort to promote travel to America will be a tremendous breakthrough. It will be a huge boost to our economic base.”

Congressman Grayson approached the House Leadership, urging that the Travel Promotion Act come up for a vote without any amendments. The bill passed the U.S. Senate on September 9th. Any changes to the bill could have scuttled successful passage. Last year, a similar bill passed the House, but the Senate did not act on it.

“Congressman Grayson understands how important this bill is for his district, and he advocated strongly for it. I was pleased to bring it to the House Floor for a vote,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

“As the number one tourist destination in the world, we stand to benefit the most. It means jobs, jobs, jobs. The new tourists will stay at hotels, eat at restaurants, and visit the theme parks and attractions. Those businesses will need to hire more people to service the additional customers,” Congressman Grayson said.

The Travel Promotion Act of 2009 was part of today’s Suspension Calendar in the House. A bill voted upon under the Suspension of the Rules requires a two-thirds majority to pass. Representative Grayson rounded up bipartisan support for this bill.

Source: Congressman Alan Grayson