Commerce Secretary Gutierrez & Gulf Rebuilding Chief Powell Name Noel Irwin Hentschel to Gulf Coast Business Investment Mission.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Donald Powell announced that Noel Irwin Hentschel has been selected to participate in the "Gulf Coast Business Investment Mission" to Louisiana and Mississippi on May 4-5 2006.

Hentschel, CEO/Chairman of AmericanTours International (ATI), the largest Visit-USA tour company in America, and Vice Chair of the U.S. Travel & Tourism Advisory Board, will join a diverse mix of executives and companies to explore investment opportunities in the Gulf Coast following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. During the trip, Gutierrez, Powell and Hentschel will meet with private sector leaders and representatives from the federal, state and local governments including Louisiana's Governor Kathleen Blanco and Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi.

Governor Barbour and Hentschel also met in the area earlier this year to discuss what could be done to restore tourism in his state. The leading tour operator and her ATI have been heavily invested in the Gulf Coast region and directly responsible for bringing international tourism and AAA/CAA dollars into the area for many years.

Founded in 1977 by Noel Irwin Hentschel and Michael Fitzpatrick, ATI serves nearly one-million visitors annually from more than 70 countries. Partnered with AAA/CAA, ATI provides a travel booking site to the auto clubs' 47 million members. It is the second-largest woman-owned business in Los Angeles and generates $4 billion into the U.S. economy every year. The company has ten branches nationally including an office in Orlando, Fla., the home of such tourist attractions as Disney World, Epcot Center and Disney's Magic Kingdom, all hurricane survivors.

Hentschel pointed out that Mississippi and Louisiana are welcoming visitors and that tourist attractions there have not been destroyed by Katrina and Rita. She said that if normal-level tourism can be restored, living conditions in the region will rise because increased travel always stimulates the economy. "When tourism is up," she added, "America thrives."

The tour cities are Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Gulfport-Biloxi. The Gulf Coast Business investment mission is part of the Bush Administration's efforts to rebuild the region by attracting business investment and urging companies to consider the commercial opportunities.

"I'm very pleased that Noel and ATI responded to the Bush Administration's invitation to participate in the rebuilding of the Gulf's economy," said Gutierrez. "She'll see first-hand that commercial investment in the region will be key to economic recovery and will create jobs that will revitalize communities."

During the mission, participants will learn about incentives that are available through President Bush's Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005. The act created a Gulf Opportunity Zone with tax relief for businesses and entrepreneurs in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.