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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 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.
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