Visit America Act
Bill: H.R.6965 | Sponsor: Rep. Titus, Dina (D-NV)
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Visit America Act
This bill implements measures to support the U.S. travel and tourism industry and to address the declining percentage of international visitors to the United States.
Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Commerce to develop a 10-year travel and tourism strategy with annual goals for the number of international visitors to the United States and for tourism commerce.
The bill also establishes the role of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism, whose responsibilities shall include setting an annual goal for the number of international visitors to the United States and facilitating international business travel to the United States.
Further, the assistant secretary must develop and implement a COVID-19 pandemic recovery strategy to assist the recovery of the U.S. travel and tourism industry.
The bill also provides statutory authority for the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, which shall aid the assistant secretary in developing and implementing the COVID-19 pandemic recovery strategy.

To promote travel and tourism in the United States, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Visit America Act''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM.

    Section 2(d) of the Reorganization Plan Numbered 3 of 1979 (93 
Stat. 1382; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``There shall be in the Department two 
        additional Assistant Secretaries'' and inserting ``(1) There 
        shall be in the Department 3 additional Assistant Secretaries, 
        including the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and 
        Tourism,''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism 
shall--
            ``(A) be appointed by the President, subject to the advice 
        and consent of the Senate; and
            ``(B) report directly to the Under Secretary for 
        International Trade.''.

SEC. 3. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR 
              TRAVEL AND TOURISM.

    (a) Visitation Goals.--The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 
Travel and Tourism (referred to in this section as the ``Assistant 
Secretary''), appointed pursuant to section 2(d) of the Reorganization 
Plan Numbered 3 of 1979, as amended by section 2, shall--
            (1) in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, 
        establish an annual visitation goal, consistent with the goals 
        of the travel and tourism strategy developed pursuant to 
        section 4(1), for--
                    (A) the number of international visitors to the 
                United States; and
                    (B) the value of travel and tourism commerce;
            (2) develop recommendations for achieving the annual goals 
        established pursuant to paragraph (1);
            (3) ensure that travel and tourism policy is developed in 
        consultation with--
                    (A) the Tourism Policy Council;
                    (B) the Secretary of State;
                    (C) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
                    (D) the National Travel and Tourism Office;
                    (E) Brand USA;
                    (F) the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory 
                Board; and
                    (G) travel industry partners, including public and 
                private destination marketing organizations, travel and 
                tourism suppliers, and labor representatives from these 
                industries;
            (4) establish short-, medium-, and long-term timelines for 
        implementing the recommendations developed pursuant to 
        paragraph (2);
            (5) conduct Federal agency needs assessments, in 
        consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and other 
        relevant Federal agencies, to identify the resources, statutory 
        or regulatory changes, and private sector engagement needed to 
        achieve the annual visitation goals; and
            (6) provide assessments and recommendations to--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives; and
                    (C) the public through a publicly accessible 
                website.
    (b) Domestic Travel and Tourism.--The Assistant Secretary, to the 
extent feasible, shall--
            (1) evaluate, on an ongoing basis, domestic policy options 
        for supporting competitiveness with respect to the strengths, 
        weaknesses, and growth of the domestic travel industry;
            (2) develop recommendations and goals to support and 
        enhance domestic tourism, separated by business and leisure; 
        and
            (3) engage public and private stakeholders to support 
        domestic tourism.
    (c) Workforce.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
            (1) consult with the Secretary of Labor to develop 
        strategies and best practices for improving the timeliness and 
        reliability of travel and tourism workforce data;
            (2) work with the Secretary of Labor and the Bureau of 
        Economic Analysis to improve travel and tourism industry data; 
        and
            (3) provide recommendations for policy enhancements and 
        efficiencies.
    (d) International Business Travel Facilitation.--The Assistant 
Secretary, in coordination with relevant Federal agencies, shall work 
to increase and facilitate international business travel to the United 
States and ensure competitiveness by engaging in, at a minimum--
            (1) facilitating large meetings, incentives, conferences, 
        and exhibitions to be hosted in the United States;
            (2) emphasizing rural and other destinations rich in 
        cultural heritage or ecological tourism, among other uniquely 
        American destinations, as locations for hosting international 
        meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions in the 
        United States; and
            (3) facilitating sports and recreation events and 
        activities, which shall be hosted in the United States.
    (e) Recovery Strategy.--
            (1) Initial recovery strategy.--Not later than 1 year after 
        amounts are appropriated to accomplish the purposes of this 
        section, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with public 
        and private stakeholders identified in subsection (a)(3) and 
        public health officials, shall develop and implement a COVID-19 
        public health emergency recovery strategy to assist the United 
        States travel and tourism industry to quickly recover from the 
        pandemic.
            (2) Future recovery strategies.--After assisting in the 
        implementation of the strategy developed pursuant to paragraph 
        (1), the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with appropriate 
        public and private stakeholders, shall develop additional 
        recovery strategies for the travel and tourism industry in 
        anticipation of other unforeseen catastrophic events that would 
        significantly affect the travel and tourism industry, such as 
        hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, and 
        pandemics.
            (3) Cost-benefit analysis.--In developing the COVID-19 
        public health emergency recovery strategy under paragraph (1) 
        and additional recovery strategies for the travel and tourism 
        industry under paragraph (2), the Assistant Secretary shall 
        conduct cost-benefit analyses that take into account the health 
        and economic effects of public health mitigation measures on 
        the travel and tourism industry.
    (f) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) Assistant secretary.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
        produce an annual forecasting report on the travel and tourism 
        industry, to the extent feasible, which shall include current 
        and anticipated--
                    (A) domestic employment needs;
                    (B) international inbound volume and spending, 
                taking into account the lasting effects of the COVID-19 
                public health emergency and the impact of the recovery 
                strategy implemented pursuant to subsection (e)(1); and
                    (C) domestic volume and spending, including Federal 
                and State public land travel and tourism data.
            (2) Bureau of economic analysis.--The Director of the 
        Bureau of Economic Analysis should annually update, to the 
        extent feasible, the Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts, 
        including--
                    (A) State level travel and tourism spending data;
                    (B) travel and tourism workforce data for full-time 
                and part-time employment; and
                    (C) Federal and State public lands outdoor 
                recreational activity and tourism spending data.
            (3) National travel and tourism office.--The Director of 
        the National Travel and Tourism Office--
                    (A) in partnership with the Bureau of Economic 
                Analysis and other relevant Federal agencies, shall 
                report international arrival and spending data on a 
                regular monthly schedule, which shall be made available 
                to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and to the 
                public through a publicly available website; and
                    (B) shall include questions in the Survey of 
                International Air Travelers regarding wait-times, 
                visits to public lands, and State data, to the extent 
                applicable.

SEC. 4. TRAVEL AND TOURISM STRATEGY.

    Not less frequently than once every 10 years, the Secretary of 
Commerce, in consultation with the United States Travel and Tourism 
Advisory Board, the Tourism Policy Council, the Secretary of State, and 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop and submit to 
Congress a 10-year travel and tourism strategy, which shall include--
            (1) the establishment of goals with respect to the number 
        of annual international visitors to the United States and the 
        annual value of travel and tourism commerce in the United 
        States during such 10-year period;
            (2) the resources needed to achieve the goals established 
        pursuant to paragraph (1); and
            (3) recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes 
        that would be necessary to achieve such goals.

SEC. 5. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD.

    Section 3 of the Act of July 19, 1940, entitled ``An Act to 
encourage travel in the United States, and for other purposes'' (15 
U.S.C. 1546) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``sec. 3'' and all that follows through 
        ``The Secretary of the Interior is authorized'' and inserting 
        the following:

``SEC. 3. UNITED STATES TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD; ADVISORY 
              COMMITTEE.

    ``(a) United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established the United States 
        Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (referred to in this 
        subsection as the `Board'), the members of which shall be 
        appointed by the Secretary of Commerce for 2-year terms from 
        among companies and organizations in the travel and tourism 
        industry.
            ``(2) Executive director.--The Assistant Secretary for 
        Travel and Tourism shall serve as the Executive Director of the 
        Board.
            ``(3) Executive secretariat.--The Director of the National 
        Travel and Tourism Office of the International Trade 
        Administration shall serve as the Executive Secretariat for the 
        Board.
            ``(4) Functions.--The Board's Charter shall specify that 
        the Board will--
                    ``(A) serve as the advisory body to the Secretary 
                of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and 
                tourism industry in the United States;
                    ``(B) advise the Secretary of Commerce on 
                Government policies and programs that affect the United 
                States travel and tourism industry;
                    ``(C) offer counsel on current and emerging issues;
                    ``(D) provide a forum for discussing and proposing 
                solutions to problems related to the travel and tourism 
                industry; and
                    ``(E) provide advice regarding the domestic travel 
                and tourism industry as an economic engine.
            ``(5) Recovery strategy.--The Board shall assist the 
        Assistant Secretary in the development and implementation of 
        the COVID-19 public health emergency recovery strategy required 
        under section 3(e)(1) of the Visit America Act.
    ``(b) Advisory Committee for Promotion of Tourist Travel.--The 
Secretary of Commerce is authorized''; and
            (2) by striking ``the Secretary of the Interior to serve'' 
        and inserting ``the Secretary of Commerce to serve''.

SEC. 6. DATA ON DOMESTIC TRAVEL AND TOURISM.

    The Secretary of Commerce, subject to the availability of 
appropriations, shall collect and make public aggregate data on 
domestic travel and tourism trends.

SEC. 7. COMPLETION OF PROCEEDING.

    If the Secretary of Commerce has, before the date of the enactment 
of this Act, taken action that in whole or in part implements this Act 
or the amendments made by this Act, the Secretary is not required to 
revisit such action, but only to the extent such action is consistent 
with this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 8. DEFINED TERM.

    In this Act, the term ``COVID-19 public health emergency''--
            (1) means the public health emergency first declared on 
        January 31, 2020, by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        247d) with respect to COVID-19; and
            (2) includes any renewal of such declaration pursuant to 
        such section 319.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 29, 2022.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.