WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two members of Congress from opposite sides of the aisle offered different takes on the incoming administration's potential impact on the travel industry.
They both agreed that politicians from Florida understand the importance of the travel industry.
Sen. Marco Rubio being tapped as secretary of state by president-elect Donald Trump could be a good thing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D.-Minn.) said during the U.S. Travel Association's annual Future of Travel Mobility conference.
"If Rubio is confirmed, he does come from a state that's big on what? On tourism," Klobuchar said. "So context will be especially important as we work on these visa issues."
Klobuchar said a priority is improving visa processing, especially with a decade of major sporting events ahead -- the FIFA World Cup in 2026, the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Utah. She is hopeful that the incoming administration prioritizes visas and expressed concern about "an especially tumultuous" changing of the guard in Washington. She hopes that the Commerce Department's advances in travel continue.
"When it comes to the commerce committee, I always believe you stand your ground but you try to find common ground," she said. "That includes tourism issues."
Klobuchar said it's imperative that members of Congress continue a bipartisan approach to push tourism priorities. She will continue to support legal immigration reform, in part to help facilitate visas for the "workers that are so important to the industry."
"Tourism tends to be more bipartisan," she said. "These last years we did pass bills and work together, so keep that mind. We want to continue this positive bipartisan approach to tourism in order to get things done."
Trump and thinking big
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) told attendees that the coming decade of sporting events and the United States Semiquincentennial in 2026 are going to be "defining moments in American history." She said that the 2008 Summer Olympics was Xi Jinping's "making his mark, announcing to the world that China was ready to take its place on the world stage."
"These are the types of moments that matter," she said. "On our 250th birthday, we need to send a message to the world that we are strong and that we are open for business. I believe as we prepare we have a unique opportunity to not only show that we have a long and storied history of inclusivity, of welcoming people, of being not just the most hospitable nation in the world, but that we are the drivers of innovation."
Rep. Kat Cammack called President Trump "a visionary who likes bold, big ideas." Photo Credit: U.S. Travel Asssociation
Being a representative of the Sunshine State, she said, "We know all too well the importance of tourism and what that means to the economy."
When asked how the incoming administration might approach the upcoming decade of major events in the U.S., Cammack said that Trump is "a businessman and a builder" but also a hotelier.
"When you go to any of the Trump properties, one of the most important things that they prioritize is the experience," she said. "And when I think about these major sporting events and the incredible age that we're entering in travel and major moments, global moments, I think of the experience that these millions of travelers will have coming to the United States. Are there going to be headaches as we move people through airports, through passport control? What are we doing to streamline this process with visas while also maintaining the expected level of security that everyone deserves to have?"
Cammack said the government should listen to the industry, rather than the other way around, to ensure success.
"We have a unique opportunity under a very aggressive incoming administration to make sure that we're listening to industry," she said. "I think that's been the key for not only securing the immediate success of these three major events and all the things that will come as a result, but the next 50 years. The investments that we make here in the very near future will pay dividends for a very long time."
Her advice to the travel industry: Think big.
"The other thing I know about President Trump is that he is a visionary and he likes bold, big ideas," Cammack said. "This is not the time to be shy. This is not the time to have small ideas. ... There is no reward right now in this administration for small ideas."