during the past two decades challenged the travel industry to rise above its parochial competitiveness and its diversity to think greatly of itself and its social and economic contribution to American life, and to speak with a united voice with the highest standards of professionalism, while asking the same cooperation that our Government accords other basic industries of similar importance.

You have said that this Nation needs a Government and travel industry united in purpose, working together to formulate programs that help us grow in ways that best serve the American people, the quality of life, and our national interests in an increasingly competitive world. You have expressed frustration and impatience at the failure of our Government to understand how important tourism has become to this Nation.

We in the industry have shared your frustration, but I must confess the travel industry itself has contributed to it. We too often fail to perceive the totality of this industry and to speak with one voice on matters of common concern and interest. It's been difficult on many occasions to overcome the natural inclination of the industry's diverse components to look after their own special interests exclusively. But as these hearings have revealed, that situation is changing and an unprecedented opportunity is presenting itself to us. The travel industry at last is readying itself for unified action. You have indicated the Congress is readying itself at least and that landmark legislation has a good chance of success in both Houses of Congress next year.

Only the administration is out of step. Like all previous administrations, Republican and Democrat alike, where tourism is concerned, it will not look beyond the most narrow budgetary and bureaucratic considerations. It alone, of all the forces that have converged in this room during the past week, has failed to realize what the travel industry has become and what it is capable of becoming, given the proper Federal level of recognition and coordination from Government.

The administration's lack of responsiveness and vision is disappointing, but we shouldn't let it control our actions.

Enact national tourism policy legislation, Mr. Chairman, and DATO will do its utmost to coordinate the travel industry's efforts to help make that policy work. Give a new policy council a mandate and a budget, provide the industry legal and regular access to it, we will join you in prodding it to do its job.

and

We have a long way to go before we have a unified national travel policy and program. We will witness much wrangling over details and wrangling over territory. Some components of the travel industry may again become cynical and they may lose interest. The administration may remain indifferent. But the facts support our claim that travel is too important to our Nation to continue to be ignored and, most important, with the final report and these hearings, we have at least taken the essential first step.

Mr. Chairman, let there be no turning back.

Senator INOUYE. Well, I thank you for your very generous remarks, Bill. I appreciate them very much.

I know that at these hearings all of our witnesses were men and women of the highest responsibility in their fields of endeavor. We had presidents of airlines, chief executive officers of hotels and motels, heads of all the associations here. It's most regrettable that the Gov

ernment of the United States did not consider these hearings sufficiently important to send a comparably important person. The Assistant Secretary is a very fine lady. She's doing a great service for our country. But from the standpoint of importance and protocol, I must say that I personally was rather insulted.

I would hope that this attitude will change with the passage of time. I would hope that our Government representatives who are in the audience today will convey this observation to their superiors. I would hope that they will tell their superiors that the industry responded by sending their most important people. They didn't send their administrative assistants or assistants to assistants. And I would hope that the Government representative would tell his superiors that industry is organized, is unified, and possibly for the first time in the history of the industry, serious about the business.

As Bill Toohey has said, you do not intend to turn back. The bridges have been burned. As I've indicated to you, I'm not inclined to waste my precious time, and I can assure you that these hearings are being held not for the sake of using up time or to give the printer additional work to print the report. I can assure you that something will come out of this. We will be having legislation, and that legislation will be considered and it will be passed.

The question is, how will it be administered?

Mr. TOOHEY. Mr. Chairman, that is extraordinarily encouraging. Senator INOUYE. I want to assure you that you didn't waste your time by coming here. I hope that you won't consider the lack of Members here as an indication of the lack of interest on the part of the Senate. This happens to be a uniquely busy time for the U.S. Congress. They are all trying to leave Washington and so we've got a mishmash of legislative activity all over the place. We've got hearings and conferences. Yesterday, for example, I was in a conference that lasted 11 hours nonstop. So that is what my colleagues are doing at the present time. I'm certain they would have attended if they were able to do so. So they have asked me to convey to you their apologies for not being present but to assure you that their absence was not intentional.

Mr. TOOHEY. Mr. Chairman, may I indulge your patience and good will further? I apologize for having overlooked the president of the National Campground Owners Association who wanted to make a brief statement, and I wonder if you would be good enough to permit him to do it at this time.

Senator INOUYE. We can do that.

STATEMENT OF E. L. "BILL" WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CAMPGROUND OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you very much, Bill. Since I do represent the National Campground Owners Association, I thought I was going to have to put it into practice and sit here and camp until I was recognized.

Seriously, though, the National Campground Owners Association is a trade association of the commercial campground industry and represents over 2,000 of the Nation's most successful private campgrounds.

As members of an innovative and expanding segment of the travel and tourism industry, campground owners have become increasingly sensitive to the Federal Government's undefined attitude toward the tourism industry.

As my colleagues have expressed, these Senate hearings will, I trust, provide the catalyst that is necessary to bring the U.S. Government policy on tourism into conformity with the travel industry's longterm needs.

NCOA does appreciate this opportunity to appear before this distinguished committee to comment on the recommendations contained. in the NTPS. The contained health and well-being of the U.S. tourism industry is contingent upon action taken by this committee by developing a national statement of policy; and by establishing a coordinating mechanism to implement this policy statement, our industry will be spared the adverse effects of uncoordinated and often insensitive Federal actions.

Many of my colleagues have addressed this issue in their statements. Thus, I would like to briefly comment on another aspect of the Federal Government's role in travel and tourism. It concerns the need to develop sound tourism and recreational data.

The extent to which the Government is serious in its concern for a particular segment of the economy can be measured by the number of Government-sponsored statistical series which are used to monitor that activity. For example, the Office of Management and Budget's book of social indicators contains 18 separate indicators devoted to public health. There are 13 indicators on the state of public safety, 17 for education, 5 for housing, and 9 for income. Every facet of agriculture is closely monitored.

The leisure and recreation section, however, contains only one indicator, and that is limited to participation in outdoor recreation.

Certainly, if travel and tourism are important to the economy, we should have readily available statistics on trends in: (1) Travel and recreation participation; (2) employment generated by travel and recreation industries; (3) investment by the private sector; (4) the available supply of recreational opportunities. There are the minimums.

Further, there is no reason that substantive measures could not be monitored such as satisfaction with travel and recreational experiences, and the contribution of recreation to the quality of life in the United States.

For the committee's information, NCOA took a first and very tentative step in this direction during the past year. We have sponsored a demonstration project to develop nationwide indicators of campground occupancy and camping satisfaction. This is only the beginning. Bv a directed reallocation of existing research funds within the Federal Government, efforts of this type could be greatly increased. If Government is serious about a national tourism policy. its very first step would be an ongoing assessment of these trends which are critical to the industry's successful performance. Surely monev exists within the numerous Federal agencies to do this at no increased cost to the taxpayers.

NCOA offers its support and cooperation in any such Federal endeavor.

Mr. Chairman, NCOA also looks forward to working with this committee in the future as it develops legislation to carry out the recommendations of the national tourism policy.

Thank you very much, and I appreciate this camping experience that I have had this afternoon.

Senator INOUYE. You've mentioned something I was not aware of, the importance that OMB places upon the industry. I will personally look into this.

Mr. WILLIAMS. Thank you, sir.

Senator INOUYE. I have just instructed my assistant to do so, and. I would like to have some official response from that agency. Just one indicator?

Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, sir. We have realized the need for it for many years, so we appropriated funds to help start this year.

Senator INOUYE. How many campgrounds do we have in the United States? I'm just curious.

Mr. WILLIAMS. I think roughly, sir, about 9,000.

Senator INOUYE. How many recreational vehicles do we have?
Mr. WILLIAMs. I can't answer that, sir.

Mr. MCBRIDE. Between 4 million and 5 million on the road right now, approximately.

Senator INOUYE. Between 4 million and 5 million. That's big business. Mr. MCBRIDE. Yes, it is.

Senator INOUYE. And what is the average radius on traveling for these RV's?

Mr. MCBRIDE. Sir, that would depend on the type of vehicle involved. I could have that supplied to you if you'd like.

Senator INOUYE. I would suppose most of the owners of RV's would go beyond 500 miles, would they?

Mr. MCBRIDE. Again, sir, it would depend on the type of vehicle, but I think they often do, yes.

Mr. DE LORENZI. Senator, we started out with a campground directory of just one for the whole country. Then we had to split it into two, the West and the East; and now we have a whole series. And the demand has become tremendous and it's growing. People in the RV's go. all over. This is one of our most widely circulated publications of all our publications.

Senator INOUYE. Over 5 million. Art, your bus industry is going out of business.

Mr. LEWIS. Not quite. We're still fighting.

Senator INOUYE. Well, gentlemen, I thank you very much once again for your participation, and let me assure you again that I'm committed and we will not sit by idly. We will try to give you your moneys worth. Thank you very much.

[Whereupon, at 5:15 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES, LETTERS, AND STATEMENTS

STATEMENT OF JAMES J. DAMMAN, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, STATE OF MICHIGAN

Members of the Senate Subcommittee on Merchant Marine and Tourism, I am honored to be invited to testify before you today.

I appear here as a representative of the Conference of Lieutenant Governors. My views will, to some extent, naturally reflect my own state's policy on tourism. As you may know, Michigan has been recognized as a model for tourism in government by the National Conference of State Governments. So we in Michigan are extremely interested in the direction this subcommittee may take in the vital area of tourism.

I say vital because it is a revenue generating industry and it will become economically more important in the future. The Conference of Lieutenant Governors recognizes the tourism industry will increase nationwide by 10 to 20 percent each year until the year 2000, making it one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. It now is one of the top three industries in all the 50 states and four territories. It generates billions of dollars in economic activity each year in this country and it employs thousands of people, many of whom are our nation's underemployed and unemployed-women, minorities and youth. Tourism in the form of conventions and meetings has the potential of providing more employment activity in sorely needed urban areas like Detroit. As an example, last year, tourism generated $7.5 billion in economic activity and accounted for over 214,000 jobs in Michigan.

Because of its importance in economic as well as cultural and diplomatic terms, the travel and tourism industry requires attention and priorities on the federal level.

As you know, the federal government has some 100 or so programs which directly or indirectly affect the tourist industry. It is tragic that these programs are not being coordinated and that federal administrations are often unaware of how their programs collectively can have an important economic impact on the tourism industry in general and state and local tourism programs in particular.

There is little question that an aggressive national tourism policy combined with adequate mechanisms to insure its implementation can and will help our state and other improve the overall tourism picture. Michigan, as well as many other states, has expressed the need for economic, behavioral environmental and logistical research material on tourism. We need concrete analytical data on tourism trends so we can plot where we are now and where we are going in order to capitalize on this burgeoning industry. We need a federal policy and/or mechanism which serves as a sympathetic listener to our concerns which affect the tourist and travel industry. We need a forceful advocate to transmit these concerns to other federal agencies. We need assistance the kind of imaginative assistance which can take already existing programs like the Economic Development Authority, the Federal Housing Authority, the Small Business Administration, the dozens of other federal programs and make them work with us in the development of the tourism industry.

Most of all, we need a streamlined national policy and/or mechanism which respects a state's individual tourism program while offering appropriate technical assistance and research thus assuring that tourism is recognized as a legitimate component of economic development.

States, such as ours, that have been active in promoting tourism and have a vital stake in the future of the tourism industry are pleased and gratified that the Congress, in the person of this committee, has demonstrated an interest in improving the federal government's approach to tourism. Please feel free to contact us for any assistance you might need.

Thank you.