Travel industry advocates and business travel associations are raising their voices on Capitol Hill, attempting to influence public policy on such issues as national security, visa programs, traveler privacy and travel fees.
The Travel Business Roundtable, the eight-year-old, pan-industry organization of more than 70 CEOs, last week submitted a white paper to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to promote establishing a balance between "protecting our nation's security" and "economic vitality," particularly that of the travel and tourism industry.
"The Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, Congress and the Bush Administration must consider the collective impact of all the various policies that are being incrementally implemented," said Jonathan Tisch, TBR chairman and chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels.
The organization said the "seemingly haphazard implementation" of such initiatives as the Visa Waiver Program—with its Oct. 26 deadline—and the U.S. Visitor and Immigration Status Identification Technology, officially launched in January, could dissuade foreign travelers, and their cash, from coming to the United States.
TBR said it supports the implementation of such programs, yet is "concerned that enforcing such requirements without allowing sufficient time to meet them could cause harm not only to our industry, but also to our nation's image around the world."
TBR added that the US-VISIT system should undergo an evaluation "to determine where problems might exist."
The group also is encouraging the Transportation Security Administration to reevaluate CAPPS II to "ensure that the system will effectively secure the airways, while not overstepping the bounds of personal privacy."
As CAPPS II continues to draw the ire of many travel managers
(BTN, Feb. 9), it is the hot-button issue gaining attention from travel organizations. Like the Travel Business Roundtable, other such groups as the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, the National Business Travel Association and the Business Travel Coalition are speaking out on the issue, underscoring the balance between security and privacy.
Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, representing an undisclosed number of corporate travel buyers, this week will testify about CAPPS II before the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee subcommittee on aviation.
NBTA said it is backing House Bill 338, the Defense of Privacy Act, which will require federal agencies to analyze privacy concerns prior to implementing security regulations, namely CAPPS II. "The legislation would not prohibit the collection of information. Rather, it would provide a mechanism by which legitimate privacy concerns would be considered," NBTA executive director Bill Connors said.
NBTA, the 36-year-old association of more than 2,400 U.S. travel professionals, last month chimed in on other issues, adopting a legislative agenda and endorsing a number of bills and initiatives to help travelers pay lower travel-related taxes and fees, move more quickly through security and maximize privacy.
In addition to being vocal on CAPPS II, NBTA will lobby for the passage of House Bill 2144, the Aviation Security Technical Corrections and Improvements Act of 2003, which was introduced last year by Congressman Don Young (D-Alaska).
Connors said the bill is "designed to make important aviation security improvements, including improving consistency of passenger screening training and procedures at all U.S. airports."
NBTA also is requesting "that Congress call for a General Accounting Office report on the aggregated impact of post-Sept. 11 security fees and costs on air travel in this country." NBTA is proposing that the burden of such fees be removed from the business travel industry. NBTA said the fees have spiked 90 percent since 1989 and comprise about 26 percent of ticket costs.
NBTA has been in discussions with TSA and is seeking to establish a "stakeholder group" to explore the issues and help devise solutions.
NBTA said it will use its second annual Legislative Day—to be held on May 18 in Washington, D.C.—to push further its political agenda. NBTA this year expects between 75 and 90 participants.
Although NBTA's political action committee increasingly is involved in political pursuits, Eugene Laney, NBTA director of information and legislative services, said that the PAC—unlike many others—doesn't feel pressured to throw its weight behind the Democrats or Republicans. "Transportation is one of the few bipartisan issues," he said.
NBTA has increased its political activism in recent years, forming a PAC in 2002 and last May holding its first annual Legislative Day, during which more than 75 NBTA participants met with government officials.
Meanwhile, NBTA and ACTE last month announced plans to cooperate on issues "critical to the travel industry and the global economy," such as data privacy.
The 16-year-old ACTE, with 2,500 global members, and NBTA also agreed to share calendar dates to avoid overlapping events. Following an hour-long meeting last month that included NBTA president and CEO Carol Devine and ACTE president Garth Jopling, the organizations concluded that "circumstances occasionally call for the industry to offer a unified front," according to a prepared statement by Jopling.