§ 2121. — Congressional findings; establishment of policy.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 22USC2121]
TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE
CHAPTER 31--INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
SUBCHAPTER I--NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY
Sec. 2121. Congressional findings; establishment of policy
(a) The Congress finds that--
(1) the tourism and recreation industries are important to the
United States, not only because of the numbers of people they serve
and the vast human, financial, and physical resources they employ,
but because of the great benefits tourism, recreation, and related
activities confer on individuals and on society as a whole;
(2) the Federal Government for many years has encouraged tourism
and recreation implicitly in its statutory commitments to the
shorter workyear and to the national passenger transportation
system, and explicitly in a number of legislative enactments to
promote tourism and support development of outdoor recreation,
cultural attractions, and historic and natural heritage resources;
(3) as incomes and leisure time continue to increase, and as our
economic and political systems develop more complex global
relationships, tourism and recreation will become ever more
important aspects of our daily lives; and
(4) the existing extensive Federal Government involvement in
tourism, recreation, and other related activities needs to be better
coordinated to effectively respond to the national interest in
tourism and recreation and, where appropriate, to meet the needs of
State and local governments and the private sector.
(b) There is established a national tourism policy to--
(1) optimize the contributions of the tourism and recreation
industries to the position of the United States with respect to
international competitiveness, economic prosperity, full employment,
and the balance of payments;
(2) increase United States export earnings from United States
tourism and transportation services traded internationally;
(3) ensure the orderly growth and development of tourism;
(4) coordinate and encourage the development of the tourism
industry in rural communities which--
(A) have been severely affected by the decline of
agriculture, family farming, or the extraction or manufacturing
industries, or by the closing of military bases; and
(B) have the potential necessary to support and sustain an
economy based on tourism;
(5) promote increased and more effective investment in
international tourism by the States, local governments, and
cooperative tourism marketing programs;
(6) make the opportunity for and benefits of tourism and
recreation in the United States universally accessible to residents
of the United States and foreign countries and insure that present
and future generations are afforded adequate tourism and recreation
resources;
(7) contribute to personal growth, health, education, and
intercultural appreciation of the geography, history, and ethnicity
of the United States;
(8) encourage the free and welcome entry of individuals
traveling to the United States, in order to enhance international
understanding and goodwill, consistent with immigration laws, the
laws protecting the public health, and laws governing the
importation of goods into the United States;
(9) eliminate unnecessary trade barriers to the United States
tourism industry operating throughout the world;
(10) encourage competition in the tourism industry and maximum
consumer choice through the continued viability of the retail travel
agent industry and the independent tour operator industry;
(11) promote the continued development and availability of
alternative personal payment mechanisms which facilitate national
and international travel;
(12) promote quality, integrity, and reliability in all tourism
and tourism-related services offered to visitors to the United
States;
(13) preserve the historical and cultural foundations of the
Nation as a living part of community life and development, and
insure future generations an opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the
rich heritage of the Nation;
(14) insure the compatibility of tourism and recreation with
other national interests in energy development and conservation,
environmental protection, and the judicious use of natural
resources;
(15) assist in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of
data which accurately measure the economic and social impact of
tourism to and within the United States, in order to facilitate
planning in the public and private sectors; and
(16) harmonize, to the maximum extent possible, all Federal
activities in support of tourism and recreation with the needs of
the general public and the States, territories, local governments,
and the tourism and recreation industry, and to give leadership to
all concerned with tourism, recreation, and national heritage
preservation in the United States.
(Pub. L. 87-63, title I, Sec. 101, formerly Sec. 1, June 29, 1961, 75
Stat. 129; renumbered and amended Pub. L. 97-63, Sec. 2(a), Oct. 16,
1981, 95 Stat. 1011; Pub. L. 102-372, Sec. 5, Sept. 30, 1992, 106 Stat.
1175.)
Amendments
1992--Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 102-372, Sec. 5(1), amended par. (1)
generally. Prior to amendment, par. (1) read as follows: ``optimize the
contribution of the tourism and recreation industries to economic
prosperity, full employment, and the international balance of payments
of the United States;''.
Subsec. (b)(2) to (16). Pub. L. 102-372, Sec. 5(2), (3), added pars.
(2) to (5) and redesignated former pars. (2) to (12) as (6) to (16),
respectively.
1981--Pub. L. 97-63 substituted provisions setting out a detailed 4-
point recital of Congressional findings and establishing a 12-point
national tourism policy for provisions setting out the former
declaration of purpose of this chapter which was to strengthen the
domestic and foreign commerce of the United States, and promote friendly
understanding and appreciation of the United States by encouraging
foreign residents to visit the United States and by facilitating
international travel generally.
Effective Date of 1981 Amendment
Section 6 of Pub. L. 97-63 provided that: ``The amendments made by
this Act [see Short Title of 1981 Amendment note below] shall take
effect October 1, 1981.''
Short Title of 1996 Amendment
Pub. L. 104-288, Sec. 1, Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3402, provided
that: ``This Act [enacting sections 2124 and 2141 to 2141f of this
title, amending sections 2122 and 2124c of this title and section 4727
of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, and repealing sections 2123 to 2123d,
2124 to 2124b, and 2126 to 2129 of this title] may be cited as the
`United States National Tourism Organization Act of 1996'.''
Short Title of 1992 Amendment
Section 1(a) of Pub. L. 102-372 provided that: ``This Act [enacting
sections 2123a to 2123d and 2124c of this title, amending this section
and sections 2122, 2123, 2124 to 2124b, and 2126 of this title,
repealing sections 2123a and 2123b of this title, and enacting
provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 2122 and
2124 of this title] may be cited as the `Tourism Policy and Export
Promotion Act of 1992'.''
Short Title of 1981 Amendment
Section 1 of Pub. L. 97-63 provided that: ``This Act [enacting
sections 2123b, 2124a, and 2124b of this title, amending this section
and sections 2122, 2123, 2123a, 2124, and 2126 of this title, repealing
section 2128 of this title, and enacting, amending, and repealing
provisions set out as notes under this section] may be cited as the
`National Tourism Policy Act'.''
Short Title
Section 1 of Pub. L. 87-63, as amended by Pub. L. 97-63, Sec. 2(a),
Oct. 16, 1981, 95 Stat. 1011, provided: ``That this Act [enacting this
chapter] may be cited as the `International Travel Act of 1961'.''
Section 8, formerly Sec. 7, of Pub. L. 87-63, as renumbered Pub. L.
91-477, Sec. 5, Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1072, which had formerly
authorized the citation of Pub. L. 87-63 as the ``International Travel
Act of 1961'', was repealed by Pub. L. 97-63, Sec. 5(b), Oct. 16, 1981,
95 Stat. 1018.
Tourism Policy and Export Promotion; Congressional Statement of Findings
Section 2 of Pub. L. 102-372 provided that: ``The Congress finds
that--
``(1) the travel and tourism industry is the second largest
retail or service industry in the United States;
``(2) travel and tourism receipts make up over 6.7 percent of
the United States gross national product;
``(3) in 1991, the travel and tourism industry generated about
six million jobs directly and about two million five hundred
thousand indirectly;
``(4) travel and tourism expenditures in 1991 were approximately
$352,000,000,000;
``(5) forty-two million international visitors spent
approximately $64,700,000,000 in the United States in 1991;
``(6) travel and tourism services ranked as the largest United
States business services export in 1991, providing a United States
travel trade balance of $16,800,000,000;
``(7) many local communities with significant tourism potential
are unable to realize the economic and employment opportunities that
tourism provides because they lack the necessary local resources and
expertise needed to induce tourism trade;
``(8) increased efforts directed at the promotion of rural
tourism will contribute to the economic development of rural America
and further the conservation and promotion of natural, scenic,
historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, and recreational
resources for future generations of Americans and foreign visitors;
``(9) foreign tourists entering the United States are frequently
faced with unnecessary delays at the United States border;
``(10) advanced technologies, industrial targeting, the
industrialization of the Third World, and the flight of some United
States manufacturing capacity to overseas locations have affected
the international competitiveness of the United States;
``(11) exporting those goods and services which United States
industry can produce at a comparative cost advantage, such as travel
and tourism services, will be in the Nation's long-term strategic
interest; and
``(12) the emergence of democratic governments in the formerly
Communist nations of Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union
provide new opportunities for United States firms engaged in both
the inbound and outbound tourism markets.''
National Tourism Resources Review Commission
Pub. L. 91-477, Sec. 6, Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1073, provided that:
``(a) [Establishment; membership]. There is established a commission
to be known as the National Tourism Resources Review Commission
(hereafter in this section referred to as the `Commission') composed of
fifteen members as follows:
``(1) One representative of the Department of Commerce designated by
the Secretary of Commerce.
``(2) One representative of the Department of the Interior
designated by the Secretary of the Interior.
``(3) One representative of the Department of State designated by
the Secretary of State.
``(4) One representative of the Department of Transportation
designated by the Secretary of Transportation.
``(5) Eleven individuals appointed by the President from private
life who are informed about and concerned with the improvement,
development, and promotion of United States tourism resources and
opportunities or who are otherwise experienced in tourism research,
promotion, or planning. The President shall designate one of the
individuals appointed by him to serve as Chairman of the Commission.
``(b) [Study and investigation; report to President and Congress;
recommendations; termination]. The Commission shall make a full and
complete study and investigation for the purpose of--
``(1) determining the domestic travel needs of the people of the
United States and of visitors from other countries at the present
time and to the year 1980;
``(2) determining the travel resources of the United States
available to satisfy such needs now and to the year 1980;
``(3) determining policies and programs which will insure that
the domestic travel needs of the present and the future are
adequately and efficiently met;
``(4) determining a recommended program of Federal assistance to
the States in promoting domestic travel; and
``(5) determining whether a separate agency of the Government
should be established, or whether an existing department, agency, or
instrumentality within the Government should be designated, to
consolidate and coordinate tourism research, planning, and
development activities presently performed by different existing
agencies of the Government.
The Commission shall submit a comprehensive report of its activities and
the results of such study and investigation, together with its
recommendations with respect thereto, to the President and to the
Congress not later than two years after the first meeting of the
Commission. The Commission shall cease to exist sixty days after the
date of the submission of its comprehensive report. The comprehensive
report of the Commission shall propose such legislative enactments and
administrative actions as in its judgment are necessary to carry out its
recommendations.
``(c) [Secretarial, clerical, and other assistance by Secretary of
Commerce; information and assistance by Governmental departments and
agencies]. The Secretary of Commerce shall make available to the
Commission such secretarial, clerical, and other assistance as the
Commission may require to carry out its functions under this section.
The Commission is authorized to request from any department, agency, or
independent instrumentality of the Government any information and
assistance it deems necessary to carry out its functions under this
section; and each such department, agency, and instrumentality is
authorized to cooperate with the Commission and, to the extent permitted
by law, to furnish such information and assistance to the Commission
upon request made by its Chairman.
``(d) [Powers of Commission]. In order to carry out the provisions
of this section, the Commission is authorized--
``(1) to make, promulgate, issue, rescind, and amend rules and
regulations governing the manner of the operations of the
Commission;
``(2) to appoint and fix the compensation of such officers and
employees as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this
section and to prescribe their authority and duties; and
``(3) to obtain the services of experts and consultants in
accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.
``(e) [Compensation and travel expenses]. (1) Members of the
Commission from private life, while engaged in the performance of their
duties as members of the Commission, shall receive compensation at a
rate to be fixed by the President, not to exceed $100 each day,
including traveltime, and shall, while so serving away from their homes
or regular places of business, be entitled to travel expenses, including
per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title
5, United States Code, for persons in the Government service employed
intermittently.
``(2) Members of the Commission who are officers or employees of the
United States shall serve without additional compensation, but shall be
entitled to travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,
as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for
persons in the Government service employed intermittently.
``(f) [Authorization of appropriations]. There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums, not to exceed $750,000, as may be necessary to
carry out the provisions of this section.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 2122 of this title.
