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A federal government shutdown would cost the U.S. travel
sector at least $185 million per day and impact 530,000 travel-related jobs,
according to the U.S. Travel Association.
With Congress showing no signs that it will pass a spending
bill by the Sept. 30 deadline, a shutdown looms. In 2013, a 16-day partial
government shutdown cost the country $680 million in directly reduced travel
spending alone, according to U.S. Travel.
U.S. Travel’s projections come from calculations that
include the closure of national parks and historic sites, upon which U.S.
Travel says many regional economies greatly depend, and the cancellation of
both government travel and private business travel related to government
projects.
The association said the losses would result in temporary
layoffs, reduced wages and fewer hours worked.
"Political leaders need to understand that there are
real-world consequences to these arguments that go on in the halls of
power," said U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow in a statement. "I
realize that each side feels passionately about their respective position, but
frankly there's just no excuse for letting the fiscal year expire without a budget
when we know that people's very livelihood, their ability to feed their
families, is at stake."
Many regional economies are almost entirely dependent upon
visitors to national parks to support restaurants, lodging establishments and
other businesses, U.S. Travel said.
Dow also warned that shutdowns can inflict lasting damage
upon the U.S.'s brand in the competitive international travel marketplace.