Paving the way for travel and tourism.

The upcoming White House Conference on Travel and Tourism could catapult the industry to new heights of recognition its leaders say it deserves.

Every time you attend a convention, rent a car, spend a night in a private campground, or take a hike in a public park, you're contributing to the nearly $400 billion spent annually on travel and tourism in the United States. Yet you might not think of those seemingly separate activities as coming under the umbrella of one large industry. And that's a perception the planners of the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism (WHCTT) intend to change.

The WHCTT will bring together representatives of hospitality-related corporations and associations, government officials, and lawmakers. Under the leadership of Greg Farmer, under secretary of commerce for travel and tourism, the conference delegates will convene October 30-31, 1995, in Washington, D.C. The unprecedented event has a simple if multifaceted goal: to develop a strategy that will keep the United States at the forefront of tourism and travel in the next century.

"There have been many White House conferences on small business and other issues but never on travel and tourism. This industry is the largest in the world and a terrific economic generator, but until now it hasn't been elevated to the position it deserves," says Jim Host, executive vice president of the National Tour Association, Lexington, Kentucky.

Host joins ASAE President R. William Taylor, CAE, as one of the 165 industry delegates nominated by the White House. An estimated 500 public-sector delegates will include governors, mayors, and federal legislators, while another 1,000 delegates will represent all 50 states and selected international markets.

In the WHCTT, Bobbie Patterson sees the vehicle for delivering a unified message. "The conference offers a perfect opportunity for this industry to get together and speak as one on certain issues. Up until now, it's been hard to get the whole industry to sing off the same sheet music," says Patterson, executive director of the Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau, Idaho, and chair of the International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, Washington, D.C. "And most people think travel and tourism jobs are minimum-wage jobs. That's not true. But we haven't gotten together to communicate the reality."

"We have a history of speaking of ourselves in a segmented manner - meetings, group tours, hotels, and so forth," agrees Melvin Tennant, president and chief executive officer of the Charlotte Convention and Visitors Bureau, in North Carolina. "Frankly, this industry doesn't get the respect that other industries do, because we haven't traditionally had solid economic-impact numbers. For example, when an auto plant closes or car dealers register record sales, people react. They know what those indicators mean."

Currently, the reams of data related to the U.S. manufacturing sector far exceed the statistics compiled on the U.S. travel and tourism industry. To remedy that situation - and acknowledge the service sector as the fastest-growing part of the American economy - the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration (USTTA) has identified research as one of nine main topics up for discussion during the White House conference. Specific recommendations call for developing a central electronic clearinghouse for travel and tourism data and for establishing travel and tourism as an industry in the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.

Issues and implications

In addition to research, the strategic plan that emerges from the conference will address the following eight key issues. Many have implications for members of associations not directly related to the travel and tourism industry - and for associations themselves because of the meetings they sponsor.

* Technology. New communication systems could dramatically affect where people travel, as well as how they purchase travel goods and services. For example, more people might use their personal computers to book trips and tours directly.

* Infrastructure development. Destinations and attractions may go unvisited unless they have adequate transportation, roads, and lodging and food-service facilities.

* Product development. Changing travel patterns and interests call for changes in tour packages and visitor services. To attract more foreign visitors, for example, destinations must offer services such as currency exchange and multilingual communication.

* Promotion. Efforts specifically aimed at international visitors are essential for the United States to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Recommendations call for the establishment of cooperatively funded USA Travel Centers in key markets.

* Reduction of barriers. More international signs and better training for inspection officers could help improve the perception that the United States isn't user-friendly for international travelers.

* Education and training. The projected increase in both domestic and international visitors will create a demand for a productive and quality-oriented work force.

* Environmental concerns. The federal and state governments must balance the preservation of natural attractions and public lands with increased use.

* Traveler safety and security. While criminal attacks on travelers have received widespread media attention, this issue also covers the availability of medical assistance and legal protection.

States take the lead

Much of the preparation for the conference is taking place at the state level, where all 50 governors have scheduled or already convened conferences that revolve around these nine issues. In Idaho, for example, delegates to the state conference on travel and tourism will identify and discuss their top priorities. Given the state's geographic and economic dichotomy - public lands used for recreation and other land devoted to timber and agriculture - Patterson anticipates lively discussions. "We'll collectively agree on the issues, if not the solutions, with the greatest application to the state as a whole," she explains. "Unless we all lay the groundwork at the state level, nothing will come out of the national conference."

The Commerce Department has also asked industry groups to identify areas of interest and concern that can be incorporated into the WHCTT agenda. Because most associations hold meetings and conventions, Edwin L. Griffin, Jr., CAE, recommends association executives get involved in both the state conferences and any forums hosted by industry groups. That's where to point out the effect that taxes and restrictive policies can have on your meeting's attendance.

"Elected officials, in trying to garner revenues to put out political fires today, inadvertently chase away business for tomorrow," says Griffin, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Meeting Professionals International, Dallas.

"Business in the meetings and conventions area is so competitive now. And meeting planners are much more sophisticated than they were a few years ago - they're doing much more competitive site analyses. You have to watch how high the bed and airport taxes are, for example, not to mention the other costs associated with doing business in a city," he continues. "Public officials, at all levels of government, need to hear that input." Take the recent change in the deductibility of business expenses. Griffin believes the decrease approved by Congress has prompted a decline in meeting attendance - which, in turn, affects local and state economies.

Beyond delivering that message to policymakers, Judy Ryals hopes the WHCTT educates the general public as well. "A lot of people think tourism and meetings just happen - they don't understand that a concerted marketing effort is needed on the part of the community," says Ryals, executive director of the Huntsville and Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, in Alabama.

"Also, they don't understand how much travel and tourism affects them - not just hotels, restaurants, tour brokers, and convention bureaus - because of the turnover effect of dollars provided by outside spenders. Those dollars trickle down into the community," she adds. "Plus, a city receives revenues from lodging taxes, restaurant taxes, gasoline taxes, and other sources. That, in turn, can improve a community's police protection, highways, education, and so forth."

Ryals joins other delegates in describing the WHCTT as a chance to shine the spotlight on an industry that's often taken for granted. Yet, adds Tennant, of the Charlotte CVB, the conference's success depends upon the participation of the entire industry.

"This conference is our first and only shot at achieving the level of recognition we definitely deserve," says Tennant. "You get one at-bat - and you have to knock it out of the park."

RELATED ARTICLE: Having Your Say

To ensure that the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism addresses issues of concern to your association and its members, attend the special conferences sponsored by various industry associations and by your state government. Contact your local convention and visitors bureau or the state's department of tourism for exact dates. If your state has already held its event, share your concerns with the delegates elected to attend the national conference.

The nine issue papers prepared by the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration will serve as a foundation for the national conference's agenda. To obtain free copies of the papers, contact White House Conference on Travel and Tourism, 1440 New York Ave., N.W., Suite 203, Washington, DC 20005; [phone].

RELATED ARTICLE: Greg Farmer Talks Travel

President Bill Clinton has called the U.S. travel and tourism industry "one of the unsung heroes of our economy." Greg Farmer certainly doesn't dispute that description - but he plans to bring greater acclaim to an industry that employs more than 6 million Americans and generates billions of dollars in annual revenues.

As under secretary of commerce for travel and tourism, Farmer serves as the chief architect of the upcoming White House Conference on Travel and Tourism (WHCTT). Delegates will include approximately 1,700 industry representatives, legislators, and government officials. "The conference is an opportunity to engage public policymakers at every level. They often make decisions that either have an adverse effect - or don't have the desired positive effect - simply because they don't understand the significance of the travel and tourism industry," Farmer says. As an example, he points to the New York City taxes on visitors' lodgings, which recently were reduced. "For so long, politicians thought you could tax this industry because visitors don't vote. That's very simple, short-sighted logic. In fact, people begin looking at alternatives for a meeting site or even a vacation if an area is taxed too high. All of us look at the bottom line.

"New York City is also a good example of the industry's significance as an employer," Farmer continues. "In 1993, about 154,000 people were employed in the travel and tourism industry in that city. That's more than all the people involved in the securities, finance, and insurance industries. And that's the type of untold story we'll use the conference to communicate."

He ticks off several reasons for associations and their members to pay particular attention to the conference and its topic.

1. Jobs. The travel and tourism industry ranks as the second-largest employer in the United States overall; in at least 40 states the industry is among the top three employers. "One of the misnomers is that the industry creates jobs but not good-paying jobs," observes Farmer. "In fact, travel and tourism now pays 107 percent of the average job in the private sector."

2. Export growth. Visitors from other countries are considered exports in economic terms, yet in a real sense they represent imports - and those imports bring spending money that goes directly into the economy. The Commerce Department reports that inbound travel to the United States in 1993 surpassed spending by Americans abroad, generating a $22.2 billion trade surplus.

For each of the last three years, however, the United States' market share has declined while the number of international travelers has grown. Farmer attributes that statistic to increased competition. "Today you see advertisements for destinations you'd never have dreamed would promote themselves five years ago, such as Vietnam. Other countries have figured out that travel and tourism mean jobs and export growth. In the United States, we haven't been aggressive enough in keeping up with the competition."

3. Return on investment. An increase in marketing and promotion of U.S. destinations can help reverse the decline in international visitors. Promotional expenditures will generate a favorable return on investment, points out Farmer: Every 1 percent increase in the number of visitors from overseas translates into 4,000 full-time, good-paying jobs domestically.

Whatever the components of the strategic plan that emerges from the conference, Farmer sees a public-private partnership as essential to its implementation. "That partnership will involve the states, convention and visitors bureaus, and the private sector. What makes that goal doable is that the conference itself is such a partnership," he explains. "We have a $3 million budget, of which half is from the public sector and half from the private sector." American Express Travel Related Services, for example, has demonstrated its support by loaning a full-time employee to serve as deputy director. Associations are also doing their part: The American Automobile Association, for instance, has provided office space and equipment for the conference staff.

Sandra R. Sabo is a freelance writer based in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.