U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo Says Tourism Recovery a Top Priority
Photo Credit: Washington DC's museums, including National Museum of African American History & Culture (pictured) are reopening this month as tourism restarts in the nation's capital. Flickr Commons / Brook Ward
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The nation's capital has officially reopened — it's pushing for domestic visitors from neighboring states for now, and counting on public and private sector initiatives on the road to recovery, until international travel returns.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo unequivocally stated on Wednesday her commitment to the recovery of the U.S. travel and tourism industry, a powerful sign of support from a member of President Biden's cabinet.
The commerce secretary made her remarks at a rally hosted by Destination DC — the city's destination marketing organization — to celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week.
"Supporting the travel and tourism industry is one of my top priorities," Raimondo said in a streamed message, noting that she had witnessed, as former governor of tourism-dependent Rhode Island, how the pandemic had especially hurt workers and businesses in this sector.
"I'm excited to utilize the $750 million that was allocated to the Department of Commerce through the American Rescue
