Great American Outdoors Act Archives

U.S. House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act, sending the most significant conservation bill in decades to the Oval Office for signature.

The Act, which passed in the Senate last month, would provide $9.5 billion over five years from energy development revenues on federal land and water to assist in park maintenance.

It secures definitive funding for both the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the Restore Our Parks Act. The LWCF can create and develop local parks, trails, boat launches, sports fields, other recreation areas and park infrastructure. Under the act, LWCF will receive $900 million annually by way of offshore oil and gas revenues, meaning the money will not be coming out of the taxpayer’s pocket.

The timeline: Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 1957 by John Lewis (D–GA) on March 28, 2019. “The Great American Outdoors Act” was introduced by Cory Gardner (R–CO) on March 9, 2020. On June 9, it passed a procedural vote 80–17 and moved to full consideration before the Senate. The bill passed the Senate on June 17 by a vote of 73–25. On July 22, the bill was passed by the House on a bipartisan vote of 310–107.

“…and find your way back to the most awe-inspiring, heart-stopping, jaw-dropping places that belong to us all.”

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement:

“National parks have become increasingly important centers of travel and tourism, since there is clear evidence that the American public is more comfortable recreating in open spaces and taking their trips by car during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This prudent and bipartisan piece of legislation should be looked upon as a welcome bright note during an otherwise challenging time in Washington and around the country and world. Congress is to be congratulated for this measure directing much-needed resources to the upkeep of national parks, and we are encouraged that the administration has indicated its support as well.

“Last year, national parks welcomed 327 million visitors who spent $41.7 billion and supported 340,500 U.S. jobs. Given the rising popularity of national parks during Covid-19, we fully expect those positive economic impact figures to go up, which makes this investment by Congress in our parks particularly smart and timely. National parks are not only vital elements of the country’s geographic and cultural heritage—they are critical economic drivers, too.”

Larry Alexander, president & CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau for more than 20 years, has announced his retirement effective Dec. 31, 2020.

Larry Sieg has been named as the new president & CEO of Meet AC, the DMO for Atlantic City, New Jersey from mid-July. For the past 22 years, Sieg has been an executive at the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which facilitates economic and community development within Atlantic City’s Tourism District. Sieg replaces Jim Wood who departed from the agency in late 2019.

Eric Summe has announced his retirement as president & CEO of the Northern Kentucky Convention & Visitors Bureau, effective July 1. The former longtime Delta Air Lines public policy executive has served nearly nine years at meetKY. Julie Kirkpatrick, VP sales and marketing at meetNKY will serve as interim president and CEO. She has been with the organizations since 2014.

Roger Dow, president & CEO of U.S. Travel Association writes, “The National Park Service got a major boost on Wednesday with the Senate passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (H.R. 1957) at $2.8 billion. Funding provided by the bill will support an estimated 100,000 jobs, $6.5 billion in labor income and $17.5 billion in economic output per year, as well as contribute $9.6 billion to U.S. GDP. “

*National Park Service, photo: Jeri Clausing*

Visit Sarasota County announced last week that its president Virginia J. Haley has been re-appointed to the Visit Florida Board of Directors through June 30, 2022. Haley currently serves as the 2019-2020 chair of the Visit Florida board.

Rebecca Barnes, a Lexington, KY-based consultant, has joined the ranks of volunteers at HTTA.US as the trade associations and DMOs outreach coordinator. HTTA.US is a benevolent non-profit, created to support Hospitality, Tourism, Travel and Activities jobs recovery. Read more about HTTA.US here.

Michael Seibel has joined Reddit’s board of directors. Seibel is partner at Y Combinator and CEO of the YC startup accelerator program, which first helped launch Reddit in 2005. In the VC world, Seibel is best known as an early mentor to Airbnb. At Y Combinator, he has backed and advised 1,800+ startups.

On June 5, Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian wrote, “I have resigned as a member of the Reddit board. I have urged them to fill my seat with a Black candidate…It is long overdue to do the right thing.” The search took less than one week.

Hilton Worldwide is cutting its global corporate staff by 22 percent, representing 2,100 people. The company has also extended furloughs, reduced hours, and pay cuts for announced in March for another three months. “Never in Hilton’s 101-year history has our industry faced a global crisis that brings travel to a virtual standstill,” said Hilton president and CEO Christopher Nassetta, who is taking no salary in 2020. Among those departing is CMO Kellyn Smith Kenny who was previously CMO at Uber.

Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau is working on a cleverly worded new campaign featuring messaging that takes the form of “breakup” letters to homes, noting the “need to see other spaces.” Using billboards, digital and print, the campaign will be launched in getaway markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.

“After spending a few months in self-quarantine, we think many people may welcome a break from their own homes to see new spaces,” said Jeff Miraglia, the DMO’s chief creative officer. of Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Randy Fiveash, Director,
Connecticut Office of Tourism

Visit Connecticut has launched a new $1.2 million marketing campaign expected to deliver 94M impressions to promote thousands of businesses impacted by the pandemic. “So Good to See You, Connecticut” is the multimedia campaign running June 22 through Labor Day, aimed at residents in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

In related news, the Connecticut Office of Tourism agency, Adams & Knight, received the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts award of excellence for the “So Much, So Close” quiz designed for social media.

Any DMOs involved in a debate about printed collateral? (At eTourism Summit, we’ve been involved in this conversation for 21 years, shining a light on Visit Indy, first to go 100% digital on a campaign in 2016.)

It’s June 2020; millions of travel industry jobs have been lost. Legislators in Iowa who argued that state taxpayers should not have to spend $242,000 to print 1.4 million of these multi-colored road maps—which are also available online—have also lost. That’s about 15¢ per map before postage; anyone can request a road map be mailed out. Arguments made by legislators who defend the quarter million dollar expenditure every other year include: apps might have outdated maps, phone batteries can run out, and mobile data plans have limits.

Summer cruises are cancelled. The resumption of cruises from U.S. ports has been pushed back again. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has issued a statement saying its members would voluntarily suspend operations until at least Sept. 15, 2020. “The current No Sail Order issued by the CDC will expire on 24 July, and although we had hoped that cruise activity could resume as soon as possible after that date, it is increasingly clear that more time will be needed to resolve barriers to resumption in the United States.”

Threshold 360 has launched Threshold Map™, a powerful new online digital tool designed to facilitate destination discovery for both meeting planners and consumers. The map displays visual content for hotels, restaurants, attractions, retail stores, parks and other locations, integrating social media tools. “The Threshold Map provides an exciting new way for meeting planners and potential visitors to walk through and understand a destination,” said Daniel Kraus, CEO of Threshold 360.

Yelp has added a widget to its restaurants pages to describe COVID-19 precautions. Self-reported listing options include “Hand sanitizer available,” “Contactless payment available,” and “Temperature checks enforced.” Other listing options are just basic things, some required by law, that every business must adhere to, such as “Social distancing enforced,” or “Masks required for customers.”

When Yelp laid off 1,000 employees in early April, Eater SF reported their restaurant traffic was down 64% and nightlife traffic was down 81%. Yelp created a PR fiasco by launching GoFundMe campaigns on establishments’ behalf without getting consent to do so.

The North Face has stopped advertising on Facebook. “We’re in. We’re Out,” high profile brand tweeted on last week, indicating its support of a Facebook ad boycott. The North Face immediately halted their own U.S. paid ads with Facebook, “…until stricter policies are put in place to stop racist, violent or hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the platform.” More recently, AdAge reports Patagonia has joined the boycott, also pulling ads from Instagram through July, at least.

Hailed as a Conservationist’s Dream, Billions of Dollars Will Boost America’s Parks

Staff

Categories

Archives