Mr. PAPONE. Well, one of the major problems is certainly the language capability throughout the United States to deal and effectively meet the needs of foreign customers. Even the exchanging of money, once you remove yourself from the big cities, becomes a very serious undertaking and often quite difficult.

Senator INOUYE. Is that the major complaint?

Mr. PAPONE. Well, no. I think that, again, in that same sphere or context of language capabilities, the whole sign system is inadequate. If you move away from Los Angeles airport about three or four avenues, it's almost impossible for a foreigner to find his way back to the airport and it's quite complicated if you don't read properly all of the signs that are available to read for a foreign visitor. So, again, an effective program which deals with foreign needs is a very important aspect of this development of an attitude and a welcoming approach to foreign visitors to our country.

Senator INOUYE. How do your foreign visitors view our gateways, the reception they receive there?

Mr. PAPONE. Well, I think that we have talked today about long lines and what are often considered to be excessive time and procedural requirements for entering the country. I think, on the whole, they are happy to be here and after they have gone through the agony of the entry they enjoy their stay very much.

Senator INOUYE. Do most of them believe they got their money's worth?

Mr. PAPONE. I think that the United States today is one of the most attractive destinations in the world and particularly with respect to value. I think that we are very fortunate to offer very competitive and very appropriately price values both in terms of natural beauty and infrastructure. I think the basic fundamentals are there and what is needed is to talk about them, properly position them, improve them so they meet and are fine tuned to foreign visitors. It's amazing to me that we are doing so well spending so little. If we really put some money behind our effort, we really could go far beyond what today is our trade deficits or solving our trade deficits just through tourism. So I'm personally very convinced this is a tremendous opportunity that we have here and we are not capitalizing upon it.

Senator INOUYE. So I believe I'm correct to conclude from your statement that you do not believe we have any coherent policy, nor do we have any coordinated cooperative effort on the part of the Government?

Mr. PAPONE. That's correct, Mr. Chairman.

Senator INOUYE. Well, we will do our best to bring this about, sir. Mr. PAPONE. I know you will.

Senator INOUYE. And I'd like to thank you and your colleagues for traveling these long distances to be with us. I can assure you your travel will not be in vain, sir. Thank you very much.

Mr. PAPONE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator INOUYE. This hearing will stand in recess until Thursday at 2 p.m.

[Whereupon, at 5:30 p.m., the hearing was recessed, to be reconvened at 2 p.m., Thursday, September 28, 1978.]

NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY STUDY

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1978

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION,

Washington, D.C. The committee met at 2 p.m. in room 235, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Daniel Inouye presiding.

OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR INOUYE

Senator INOUYE. Today the committee concludes the first of its twopart hearings on the NTPS. Under the mandate of Senate Resolution 347, the committee is charged with recommending legislation which will establish a national tourism policy and Federal mechanisms to coordinate and implement that policy.

The hearings which were held on September 20 and 26, as well as today's hearings, are concerned exclusively with testimony on the objectives a national tourism policy should seek to achieve, and the most effective Federal mechanism to coordinate such a policy among the many Government agencies having programs and responsibilities which impact on travel and tourism.

Subsequent hearings this year will consider the most effective principal Federal implementing mechanism for that policy and how best to provide for cooperation with the States and private sectors of the industry.

In the first 2 days of hearings, the Lieutenant Governors Conference and chief executive officers from the following industries have unanimously and emphatically expressed strong support for legislatively enacted national tourism policy and coordinating mechanism: Lodging, scheduled airlines, travel division of American Express, New York City Convention & Visitors Bureau, San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau; the Hotel & Restaurant Employees & Bartenders, International Union-AFL-CIO, and the Public Citizens Visitor Center.

This afternoon the committee will hear from Gov. Ray Blanton, of Tennessee, representing the National Governors Association, a panel representing the American Society of Travel Agents, and finally the committee will hear from a travel industry panel organized by Discover America Travel Organizations which at the committee's request is appearing as the final witness to sum up the views of many segments of the industry and to put an overall perspective on the matters which have been under discussion during these 3 days of hearings.

The president of DATO, Bill Toohey, appeared 42 years ago before this committee, and I would like to now recall his testimony:

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I recommend that this committee complete the tourism policy study that is so arduously needed, including the legislative search and the full analysis of functions and costs. We suggest that tourism policy is a matter of congressional leadership, and we feel confident that a study by your committee would be definitive and objective, and would permit evaluation of the Commission's recommendation to the degree that is required.

As we conclude the first 3 days of hearings, I wish to thank the tourism industry and its leadership for their cooperation and support. It also wish to assure them that their efforts will bear fruit in the days ahead.

I'm not only pleased, but very honored, to call upon our first witness this afternoon, a very dear friend and most distinguished Governor of the State of Tennessee, and the chairman of the Subcommittee on International Trade and Tourism of the National Governors Association, the Honorable Ray Blanton.

Governor, it's a pleasure having you, sir.

STATEMENT OF HON. RAY BLANTON, GOVERNOR, STATE OF TENNESSEE; ACCOMPANIED BY BUD THOR, STAFF DIRECTOR, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FOREIGN TRADE AND TOURISM, NATIONAL GOV. ERNORS ASSOCIATION

Governor BLANTON. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for allowing me this opportunity. I have with me Mr. Bud Thor, who is our staff director of this committee of the National Governors Association-and to say thanks again for the distinguished chairman's efforts in the promotion of tourism.

It is a privilege to be here today to testify concerning the national tourism policy.

As chairman of the National Governors Association Subcommittee on Foreign Trade and Tourism, I have given a great deal of attention to this area and have strong feelings about the tremendous potential of tourism in the national economy.

I would like to commend Senator Inouye and Chairman Cannon and the members of the committee for undertaking to establish a national tourism policy and coordinating and implementing mechanisms to carry out that policy.

The travel and tourism industry with its many diverse components has become an increasingly important element in the American economy.

Its importance as an economic, educational, cultural, and even diplomatic tool has long been underestimated.

The expansion of the national economy requires that we not only give attention to solving the problems of troubled industries, but also that we give maximum support to developing growing markets.

Tourism is growing. It is healthy. Indeed, it can be a part of the answer to a healthy and expanding national economy, but it must have our full attention in order to make the most of the opportunity to strengthen our economic future.

Tourism is now the first, second, or third leading producer of revenue in 46 of our 50 States.

In 1976 the last year for which accurate figures are available— the U.S. Data Center estimated domestic and foreign travelers spent

$104 billion in the United States on trips involving overnight stays away from home and day trips of more than 100 miles.

That activity generated $22 billion in wages and $13 billion in Federal, State, and local taxes.

That is the kind of asset no good business would take for granted. Tourism also has the potential to help make up our trade deficits. The United States is recognized as a favorite tourist destination throughout the world.

The expansion of new international routes has put all regions of the United States within reach of millions of potential visitors.

The declining value of the American dollar in comparison with foreign currencies, while not an encouraging trend for business in general, provides an exceptional opportunity to attract foreign visitors.

The fact that the dollar buys less abroad also means that foreign currencies will buy more in the United States.

An American vacation has been put within the reach of additional millions of potential visitors, providing us with the opportunity to ease the balance-of-payments problem which has plagued us for the past few decades.

Yet, the United States has not seized the initiative.

At a time when we should be promoting tourism extensively, there has been talk of closing several of the U.S. Travel Service's offices abroad.

The proposals contained in the Arthur D. Little report are a step in the right direction.

They give an added emphasis to the economic role tourism plays in the American system and point a proper direction for us to take in formulating a strong policy toward tourism on both the domestic and international levels.

The central problems at the national level are :

(1) We do not have a national tourism policy;

(2) We do not have a mechanism through which a national policy can be developed; and

(3) We do not have a mechanism through which activities can be coordinated at the Federal level with State and local governments, and private industry.

There are several different opinions about what should be done, but we all agree that something must be done to eliminate conflicting national policies which affect the tourism industry, and eliminate the ineffective expenditure of tax money through overlapping Federal programs.

It is my recommendation that, if a Cabinet-level tourism department cannot be created at this time, a strong central coordinating council be formed to operate under guidance from the White House.

The Council's function would be to coordinate the policy decisionmaking process and the implementation of Federal agency activities. This concept is currently being employed by the Carter administration in an effort to bring together the various Federal agencies affecting urban policy through their respective programs.

I believe it to be a sound approach and one that could offer a workable solution to the problems now facing us in the area of travel and tourism.

As you know, I have put tourism at the highest level in the State of Tennessee during my administration. In fact, we are the first and it's