Travel groups congratulate Trump, lay out policy agendas

Travel industry groups used the opportunity to congratulate president-elect Donald Trump to lay out their policy priorities for the next administration.

In a message to members, ASTA said there were still “many unknowns at the state and local levels,” and that the races of some of its biggest allies on Capitol Hill had not been decided as of Wednesday afternoon, including Jacky Rosen, a Democratic senator in Nevada, and Republican Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

“As we continue to examine the results, one thing is for certain: As the global advocates for travel advisors for nearly a century, we have worked with numerous administrations and congresses to advance the interests of travel professionals,” ASTA wrote. “We’re looking forward to re-introducing ourselves to the Trump administration and new cabinet members who will affect travel policy.”

With the Senate set to be controlled by the Republican party, ASTA said Republican Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas will most likely chair the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.  

The Society also said its priorities remained largely the same. They include pressing legislators and regulators to reverse a policy that forces ticket agents to repay clients for flight cancellations before they receive those funds from the airline, and re-evaluating a Department of Labor overtime rule that forces steep salary increases on small businesses.  

Geoff Freeman, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, congratulated Trump and laid out the organization’s top priorities.

“As
we assess the opportunities and challenges of working with the next
administration, U.S. Travel will focus on advancing policy priorities
that address traveler frustrations, particularly within the air travel
system, and growing our market share of global travel,” Freeman said.

“We
will also work with the administration on competitive positioning to
advance and improve America’s standing as a travel destination, with
major events on the horizon including the 250th anniversary of the U.S.,
the 2026 World Cup, which was secured during the first Trump
presidency, and the 2028 Summer Olympics and 2034 Winter Olympics.”

“We look forward to working with the Trump-Vance administration and lawmakers of both parties at every level of government to keep the hotel industry, and the many thousands of small businesses and employees that power it, moving forward,” said the American Hotel & Lodging Association interim CEO Kevin Carey.

Carey cited several priority issues for the trade group, including supporting business-friendly tax rates, expanding workforce policies, combating regulatory overreach, protecting the hotel franchise model and ensuring fair competition between hotels and short-term rentals.

Airlines for America said it looked forward to working with the new administration “to advance policy priorities that will benefit American consumers, commerce and the economy.”

“Commercial aviation — including passenger airlines and all-cargo carriers — proudly drives five percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, directly employs one million people and supports more than 10 million jobs across the country,” the group said. 

This report was updated with new comments from the U.S. Travel Association.