Major U.S. tourist destinations such as Las Vegas could be in for some pain under a proposal in President Donald Trump’s 2019 budget which calls for killing a program that markets tourism to the U.S. abroad.
The provision marks the second time the Trump administration has sought to eliminate funding for Brand USA, as the program is called. The 2018 budget contained the same provision, but Congress disregarded it.
Republican Congressman Mark Amodei, whose 2nd District includes the tourist region encompassing Reno and Lake Tahoe, said that as a member of the Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives he wasn’t concerned.
“It’s good that they are watching the budget, they should,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “But last year’s budget axed a lot of things and the House systematically put almost all of them back in.”
Rossi Ralenkotter, chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, was less sanguine. He noted that since Brand USA was renewed in 2014 it was conceived in 2009 with the backing of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada international visitation to the country has increased by 4.4 million travelers, a number good for one out of every nine jobs in the country, according to Ralenkotter’s estimate.
Brand USA is “a critical part of the marketing and promotion of our country” he said. “We need to protect and grow those jobs.”
According to the Brand USA website, international travel to the United States currently supports 1.8 million American jobs directly and indirectly and benefits virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. The program coordinates marketing efforts around the world that promote the U.S. as a destination and communicates U.S. visa and entry policies.
It’s paid for with private donations and fees charged to international visitors who register for visas to enter the country. Trump’s budget wants to reroute those funds to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an amount estimated at $60 million in 2019 and $66 million in 2020.
Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, whose district includes Las Vegas, has written the administration urging the program be preserved. The letter was signed by 15 House Democrats, according to the Review-Journal.
“For every dollar spent marketing the United States as a travel destination, our economy receives $25 in return,” it said.
Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada blasted the proposed cut as “absolutely outrageous” and said there is bipartisan support in the Senate for continuing the program.
“We are going to continue to fight to make sure the funding is there.”
