U.S. Travel CEOs: Tourism Faces Growth Bottlenecks—Full Video
Photo Credit: U.S. Travel Association CEO and President Geoff Freeman, NYC Tourism + Conventions CEO and President Fred Dixon and Skift Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam Skift / Skift
Skift Take
From long visa wait times to an air traffic control staffing shortage to declining airports, the U.S. has some serious long-term problems if it wants to compete effectively.
The U.S. can't effectively compete for tourists if there isn't energy at the federal level toward tackling issues like excessive visa wait times, upgrading outdated airports and staffing the TSA and FAA.
NYC Tourism + Conventions CEO and President Fred Dixon and U.S. Travel Association CEO and President Geoff Freeman discussed a range of long-term issues slowing the growth of the travel industry at the Skift Global Forum in New York City.
(You can watch the full video and read the transcript below.)
Dixon also talked about what the impact of New York City’s crackdown on Airbnb will be on tourism to the Big Apple. Freeman advised the travel industry to lower their expectations about the assistant secretary for travel and tourism’s ability to make their jobs easier. Both touched on why large cities will need tourism to makeup for the loss of office commuter spending as remote and hybrid work becomes permanent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch
