With tourism and travel markets expected to be one of the last of the hard-hit industries to recover from the ongoing pandemic, four U.S. senators said Thursday they will introduce legislation to provide $2.25 billion that would help organizations in the sector.
The legislation – The Sustaining Tourism Enterprises During the COVID-19 Pandemic (STEP) Act – would modify existing grant programs overseen by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and would provide direct support to the tour and travel industry, which could include areas with casino gaming.
Organizations could use the funds to promote economic recovery and help increase public confidence as the industries begin to reopen.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada
“As we work to safely reopen our economy, we must be doing all we can to support those who drive our hospitality industry, including within our live entertainment and outdoor recreation sectors,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, said in a statement.
“This legislation will help our struggling tourism, marketing, and convention entities and ensure we promote safe travel and tourism for both visitors and workers,” Cortez-Masto said.
Three other senators – one Democrat and two Republicans – endorsed and will sign on to the legislation.
Last month, American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller said the gaming industry is seeking to be included in the financial aid under the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package currently under consideration on Capitol Hill.
In a statement Thursday, AGA Senior Vice President of Government Relations Chris Cylke, the proposed legislation would help tourism communities on their road to recovery.
“The American Gaming Association is encouraged to see bipartisan support for our hospitality, travel, and tourism industries, which have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Cylke said. “These industries will be a key part of economic revival for communities and states throughout our country.”
The proposal is separate from legislation Cortez-Masto introduced in October with Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, that offers tax credits and other incentives to boost the struggling nationwide convention and tradeshow market while offering relief and recovery measures to the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries.
That measure, which would create a tax credit for the cost of attending or hosting a convention, business meeting, or trade show between this year and 2023, is expected to be reintroduced since a new Congress is now in place.
Cortez-Masto has said other big convention cities, such as Chicago, Dallas, Orlando, and San Francisco, would also benefit from the legislation.
The Las Vegas Convention Center went muchly unused in 2020
Cramer, a former North Dakota tourism director, said states that rely on tourism for jobs and funding need support from the STEP Act to help businesses “show the American people they are safely reopening.”
The funding authorized by the legislation would provide grants for tourism and event entities impacted by COVID–19. It would also authorize a permanent change to EDA eligible expenses to include “travel promotion” spending, which would include funding for tourism marketing.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, who is the co-chairman of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus, said his state’s travel industry “has been devastated by the pandemic.” Blunt said the legislation, “utilizes an existing program to direct much-needed support to tourism-related businesses as our economy works its way back to full speed.”
The funds could be a boost to Las Vegas, which saw visitation decline by 55.2% in 2020 to just over 19 million visitors – the market’s lowest total in 30 years. COVID-19, which led to a prohibition on mass gatherings in Las Vegas, decimated the Strip’s conventions and meetings business, sending the market to a decline of 74% in 2020. Las Vegas ended the year with nine straight months of zero convention and meeting delegates.
Under the legislation, the grants would be available to any entities that promote tourism operations. The funds would support marketing and promotion activities’ pay for costs associated with providing visitors information about health and safety protections; help in covering cleaning and sanitary costs and modification associated with safe worker travel or event environments, and fund the salaries and expenses associated with the operations.
Nearly 1,000 commercial and Indian casinos in 43 states were closed starting at the end of March by governments and tribal authorities, with the majority of the shutdowns ending in the middle of summer. However, a COVID-19 surge at the end of the year forced casinos to close once again in several states, including Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
“Gaming just wants to be treated the same as everyone else in business,” Miller said in January. “We’re not trying to be greedy or selfish and we’re not separating ourselves from other businesses that have suffered devastating economic harm. We don’t want to be discriminated against.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said the proposed legislation would help the tourism industry, “get back on its feet,” especially tourism destinations that have been limited because of the pandemic.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
