TBR Gets Access To Administration, Congress

<B> TBR Gets Access To Administration, Congress</B>

By David Meyer

Key Clinton Administration officials and U.S. congressmen joined the Travel Business Roundtable's fourth annual meeting in Washington late last month to discuss the travel and tourism industry's key issues and the political realities they face.

Larry Summers, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury--second in command to and the likely successor for Robert Rubin--recognized TBR's efforts to seek the creation of a National Tourist Office that would promote the United States as a destination. He described the efforts of the group as "public good that is in our collective interest and therefore an economic development for which there is a very strong case." He warned, however, that "in this budgetary environment it is unlikely to achieve appropriations. You can find government legitimacy, but it must be funded privately." To that end, Summers advised the group that it would have to work to combat free riding by major industry competitors.

The presence of Summers, Al Gore's chief domestic policy advisor David Beier, and members of the Senate and House Travel & Tourism caucuses during the gathering was a testament to how far the TBR has come in getting access to and support from federal policy makers regarding travel and tourism issues.

<B>Tisch Holds The Helm</B>

Loews Hotels CEO and president Jonathan Tisch, who for the past couple of years has been the driving force behind the effort to leverage the combined clout of the senior-most executives of the travel industry's largest supplier companies to influence public policy formation, re-upped for another year as chairman of the Travel Business Roundtable.

In addition to the high-profile administration and congressional turnout for the annual meeting, Tisch told attendees about a day of meetings that as TBR representatives he, Jonathan Linen, American Express vice chairman, and Tom Kershaw, president of the National Restaurant Association, recently had with a group of 30 U.S. senators and with President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, Erskine Bowles. With TBR's help, the senators established a new travel and tourism caucus. The House caucus, which TBR helped organize earlier this year (<I>BTN,</I> Oct. 27, 1997) has grown to 70 members. With Bowles, TBR leaders discussed the possible creation of a travel and tourism post within the executive branch.

Beier told the group that the Administration just recently gave principle responsibility for travel and tourism issues to Dorothy Robyne, special assistant to the President on the staff of the National Economic Council. Beier told the group about the Administration's policies for sustained growth and gave an update on progress in acheiving many of the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism goals, particularly the April signing of the extension of the visa waiver program and the creation of surface transportation legislation.

Like his Administration colleague, Beier recognized the economic contribution of the travel business, which, he said, accounted for a $27 billion positive balance of payments last year, currently has 684,000 senior executive jobs and is projected to grow 18 percent in the next six years as manufacturing continues its decline.

Summers also acknowledged the travel industry's contributions to the economy, as well as the emergence of the primacy of information over industrialization. In doing so he noted that Microsoft is now larger than the big three automakers combined and that the Walt Disney Co. is now more important to our economy than steel.

In response to a question about the economic impact of the Year 2000 computer conversion, he said, "It won't be good." Summers said there are three possible scenarios: that it turns out to be a big nothing, that it will have substantial impact for a long time to come, or more likely that it will be the equivalent of "two bad blizzards and an earthquake--it'll hurt but it won't be remembered."

Summers also said he was encouraged by recent Wall Street tests. Elsewhere in Washington, later that day, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey announced, seemingly to her surprise, that tests show that the FAA will be Year 2000 compliant in time.

Tisch announced that the Travel Business Roundtable will launch a Website this month and that the group is looking for three or four more data sources to enhance its year-old Travel Business Roundtable Index of Leading Economic Indicators. The group is seeking monthly data on the economic performance of credit card, cruise and theme park companies.

Tisch renewed the call to travel company CEOs to join the group so it can attain its long held membership goal of 100 to more effectively build on the momentum that TBR has gained so far.