
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 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.
