WASHINGTON -- Move over e-commerce and make room for t-commerce.
In her first major address as chairwoman of the Travel Industry
Association of America, Marilyn Carlson Nelson urged the travel
industry to adopt the phrase "t-commerce" when referring to the
revenue generated by the travel industry.
"Under this banner, we will herald the fact that t-commerce is
made up of everything that has to do with travel and its
distribution," Nelson said during TIA's annual State of the Travel
Industry luncheon here.
"It's long been known that for every $1 spent on tourism
promotion, 10 are returned to a nation's economy," said Nelson, who
is also chairman and chief operating officer of Carlson Cos. "Short
of an Internet [stock], there are few better track records out
there."
Nevertheless, Nelson said, the business community and Congress
generally overlook the value of the travel and tourism industry,
which TIA said annually generates some $541 billion in travel
expenditures.
"Unless you have something to do with the Internet and
electronic commerce, you can't get anyone's attention," she said.
"Perhaps we should call ourselves 'travel and tourism.com' to get
attention."
Nelson said TIA this year will drive the t-commerce message to
the business community and on Capitol Hill as it distributes an
eight-minute video, "Tourism Is Everybody's Business."
The t-commerce message also will punctuate Tourism Week, slated
for May 7 to 13, and TIA's annual International Pow Wow in
Dallas.
"Only when t-commerce gets the recognition that it truly
deserves will our opinion leaders finally grasp the value of
nurturing the continued growth of its industry," Nelson said.
She expressed disappointment that legislation authorizing
federal funding for a national tourism office stalled in
Congress.
And with prospects unclear for the legislation, which is
included in a Federal Aviation Administration funding bill, Nelson
said, "We simply can't wait any longer. We are going it alone, at
least for now."
Nelson said TIA, at its own expense, "will open offices to
encourage U.S. visits" in the U.K., Japan and Brazil and will
launch a major media campaign, including co-op ads with suppliers
and familiarization trips for writers overseas. Additionally,
Nelson spelled out an "aggressive" legislative agenda that TIA will
pursue on Capitol Hill this year.
Key objectives include repealing a law that Nelson said would
cause a "U.S. lockout" and "create intolerable delays" by enhancing
the scrutiny of travelers at border crossings.
Nelson said TIA also is in favor of dedicating the Aviation
Trust Fund solely to supporting the U.S. aviation system; making
permanent the visa waiver pilot program, which expires April 30,
and securing funding for a satellite account that would enable
travel and tourism to be measured as part of the gross national
product.
However, Nelson said, TIA is opposed to legislation pending in
the House and Senate that would split the Immigration and
Naturalization Service to create a new Immigration Enforcement
Bureau.
As part of its legislative agenda, Nelson said TIA would sponsor
a series of Capitol Hill events, issue papers and expand the
government affairs section on its Web site, www.tia.org.