Jonathan Tisch
Speaking at the opening of this month's New York University Hospitality Conference, longtime conference chair Jonathan Tisch urged the nearly 2,000 hotel industry executives and representatives to push for infrastructure improvements and other investments designed to promote international travel to the United States. Tisch, whose many roles in the travel industry include chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, said infrastructure investment would be "one of the travel industry's defining challenges over the next decade or longer." Without full industry cooperation, he said, the United States would be ill-equipped to handle an expected influx in international travel, particularly as corporate travel becomes more global and countries such as China relax rules restricting outbound travel. In an interview with BTN's Michael B. Baker Tisch elaborated on his vision of industry involvement in easing barriers to international travel.
How is the United States falling behind when it comes to handling inbound international travel?
Millions and millions of people will be leaving their homes for the first time because they have the economic ability to do that. Their government reduced the restrictions placed on them to travel. Even though the ability to travel has never been easier, the process is more stressful and less convenient than ever. When you look at what the countries we compete with for inbound international travelers are doing in terms of ensuring their travel infrastructure is as new and efficient as possible, it really points to the challenge we're going to have in our country unless we act on this issue. I took a trip in late March to Australia and Hong Kong. To see new airports and new roadways, and then come back to our country and realize that many of ours are outdated and our highways and bridges are in very rough shape, it really points to why we need to have this conversation.
Will you be focusing on the NextGen air traffic control system overhaul as well?
Absolutely. This discussion needs to focus on roads, bridges and on the aviation system, and NextGen needs to be passed by Congress. Also, I give the president credit for trying the discussion of high-speed, intercity rail. Sadly, many states haven't risen to the occasionby working with the president on some of these projects.
How do you accomplish this when budget cutting is the strategy endorsed by the majority in Congress?
Our industry came together as it's related to the need to market ourselves as an international destination. We met with our elected officials and, after many years of discussions, the Travel Promotion Actwas passed. Now we have the Corporation for Travel Promotion, and there's some $200 million a year available to market the United States as a destination. We need to have that same kind of conversation with the elected officials. Clearly, we're aware of the budget constraints on the national, state and local level, but if our roads, bridges and airports are falling apart, then not only travelers but goods and services are not going to be able to make their way to the end user, and that'll cause even a further decline in business, which clearly would result in less tax dollars generated. This kind of discussion should be viewed as an investment in our country, and for 20 years I've been trying to explain to our elected officialsthat, properly supported, travel and tourism and hotels still are a vehicle for economic development and job creation. We're having so much discussion about new construction; where there are vibrant markets, you can build all these wonderful new properties. Hopefully, business is getting a little bit better, but if people are frustrated by the hurdle of travel and decide not to take a trip, then these new hotels and existing hotels are just going to sit empty.
What other issues related to international travel does the industry needs to focus on?
The visa issues and the difficulty of obtaining a visa is very much still a challenge. It's important for our industry to continually work with [the Department of] Homeland Security and the State Department to get them to understand the ability to get a visa for an individual who lives in a non-Visa Waiver Program country is vital to the vibrancy of the travel and tourism industry.
What is the industry doing to push these issues?
The U.S. Travel Association has done a good job of having the forums needed for the CEOs to get together twice a year to have this discussion. We can point to the Travel Promotion Act as a success and show what happens when the industry does stick together with one voice. Hopefully, this kind of discussion will lead to a movement where we work with our elected officials. The article originally was published in Business Travel News.