When the National Advisory Committee on Travel and Tourism Infrastructure (NACTTI) convenes for the first time on Dec. 8, Las Vegas will be well-represented.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx recently named Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter as chair of the 25-member committee.
The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 created the committee, which is charged with providing information, advice and recommendations to ensure the nation’s transportation infrastructure is sufficient for travelers’ needs.
“Tourism is reliant on safe and efficient transportation infrastructure, so our industry leaders are excited to have a role in providing our insight to the Department of Transportation and transportation agencies across the country,” Ralenkotter said in a news release. “The travel industry has a tremendous impact on the economy and helps support hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide.”
Ralenkotter and the other 25 members are appointed to two-year terms. Membership includes mayors, CEOs of airports, transportation, travel and tourism organizations, visitors bureaus, a union official and others who represent various transportation industries.
The committee’s self-stated role is to advise the Secretary of Transportation on current and emerging priorities and needs to facilitate travel and tourism across the country.
Is also serves as a discussion forum for travel and tourism affecting interstate and interregional travel, promote the sharing of information among public and private transportation sectors, and to gather information, develop technical advice and recommend ways to improve the nation’s transportation system.
The committee also is to identify critical transportation facilities and corridors, develop ways to measure transportation infrastructure condition, safety and performance, and create ways to help federal, state and local officials to choose transportation projects in which to invest.
At its first meeting, committee members are scheduled to be sworn-in and then discuss the scope of work they intend to undertake during their inaugural terms on the NACTTI.
The committee is scheduled to meet from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 8 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Federal Aviation Administration building in Washington D.C., with Ralenkotter leading as committee chair.
Ralenkotter has more than 40 years’ experience in the travel and tourism industry. He formerly chaired the U.S. Travel Association, was a delegate to the White House Conference on Tourism and is a longtime member of the U.S. Department of Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, which he formerly chaired.
He is also a member of the American Society of Travel Agents, Destination Marketing Association International, the American Society of Association Executives and the Hotel Sales Marketing Association.
As a member of the ad-hoc Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, Ralenkotter helped to secure $750 million in state funding, as well as state support for the $2.3 billion expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
He has been president and CEO of the LVCVA since 2004, where he is responsible for the branding and marketing efforts on behalf of Las Vegas and Southern Nevada.
Ralenkotter started his career at the LVCVA as a research analyst in 1973.
