U.S. Travel Association Puts the Spotlight on a Do-Not-Travel List
Friday, July 31st, 2009
The U.S. Travel Association is leading a campaign proposing that some companies are adhering to a "do not travel" list that rules out travel planning at major resort destinations such as Las Vegas, Orlando and other major resort hubs around the United States. The organization claims that many companies that once booked up convention centers, organized conferences and other large-scale events at these tourist destinations were criticized for spending federal bailout money for this type of travel, and the destinations were therefore 'blacklisted.'Congressional representatives from Florida and other states have signed a letter urging a federal investigation of this do-not-travel list from the General Accounting Office. A report in the Wall Street Journal put the spotlight on the situation, claiming that big agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture are "being encouraged to host meetings in buttoned-down places such as St. Louis, Milwaukee or Denver." (Source: WSJ.com)
The WSJ also reports that the Department of Justice simply decided that the conferences should not be held in cities that are primarily resort, gambling and vacation destinations. It is not clear whether this is because of the costs involved with booking travel to these destinations, or for other reasons.
Geoff freeman, senior vice president of public affairs for the U.S. Travel Association interviewed with the Wall Street Journal, and suggests that "We get the sense that these agencies are worried about scrutiny, and in order to avoid criticism from the media they are essentially willing to spend more money and do things that they think will prevent them media scrutiny."
Major resort destinations including Las Vegas and Orlando are already suffering from the state of the economy and are struggling to generate more business as more travelers scale back their travel budgets.
Federal agencies have not acknowledged that this type of blacklisting is taking place and the White House has stated that it would oppose such practices if they were discovered.