Corporation For Travel Promotion Set To Take Off
The Corporation for Travel Promotion, a government run agency, formed in 2010, was formed to create interest in travelling to the U.S., to attract foreign visitors. The idea is to promote the U.S. as a tourist destination, a business destination and a scholarly destination thereby creating more jobs in the U.S. in the tourism industry.
The board and staff are made up of private citizens, but they are accountable to reporting to the federal government and Congress on their successes. It is a non-profit corporation funded 50% by cash and in-kind contributions, and then the other 50% is funded by ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. ESTA is a program set up for travelers from countries that do not require a visa to pay a small fee once every two years to enter the U.S. A portion of this fee is placed in a special account at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, to be transferred to the CTP in amounts equal to the contributions made by the private sector. The program is not funded by tax dollars.
Funds for marketing become available to CTP on October 1, 2011, but the team has been busy creating goals and outcomes for CTP. The marketing of the U.S. will hopefully attract foreigners to resorts located all over the United States, with promotion distributed evenly. Bluegreen Corporation resorts should see an influx of visitors for leisure and business travel.
The reason for the creation of CTP is that other countries and destinations have grown more competitive, drawing foreign visitors to their countries rather than ours. And, since 911, travel has become more cumbersome for foriegn travellers due to hightened security measures, which has probably cost our country lost revenue.
In the not so far off future, tourism in the United States should increase, filling our resorts with more visitors and improving our economy. For information on this story, go to the San Francisco Chronicle .
