The Tourism Academy is offering its operations network and innovative technologies to assist President Joe Biden in his efforts to reinvigorate the US economy, empower small business owners, and grow through innovation.
"We are prepared to move quickly once the educational programs are available. Additionally, we are prepared to leverage our information technology, tremendous reach, and communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration’s economic growth efforts," wrote the Chief Strategist and Chief Learning Officer at The Tourism Academy, Stephen Ekstrom and Sheena Works, in their letter to Biden. "Our reach allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the mission to re-energize our economy, and we stand ready to assist you in this effort."
The Tourism Academy said that it has already arranged to provide educational content about business growth, safety, innovation, and job readiness to the hundreds of thousands of professionals within its network.
The tourism industry accounts for 7.1% of America's private employment, Ekstrom and Works noted. COVID-19 decimated the tourism industry with travel restrictions and families staying home to quarantine. Annually, American tourism expenditure is $1,089 Billion ($932.7b domestic / $156.3b international) Additionally, 90% of countries have closed World Heritage Sites, with immense socio-economic consequences for communities reliant on tourism. There is a cultural impact when 90% of museums closed and 13% may never reopen.
Biden is also depending on Congress to provide $1.9 trillion for economic relief and COVID-19 response. There are a litany of complaints from states that say they are not getting enough vaccine even as they are being asked to vaccinate a broader swath of Americans.
According to the United Nations World Trade Organization, data through January 20 from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths in the U.S. rose over the past two weeks from 2,677.3 on January 6 to 3,054.1 on Wednesday. More than 400,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19.
Dear President Biden,
Congratulations to you and Vice President Harris on your inauguration. As you begin your work leading the country out of the COVID-19 crisis, The Tourism Academy stands ready to assist you in reaching your goals to reinvigorate the economy and provide clear, consistent, evidence-based guidance for businesses and their communities.
The travel industry accounts for 7.1% of America’s private employment and supports 23 million American jobs. It’s an industry that has been especially hard hit during this time of physical distancing and travel restrictions. We are proud of the role our engineers, educators, tourism leaders and students have played to educate themselves, find creative solutions, and reimagine their business models for the future. These people are critical to our economic growth and should have easy access to the knowledge they need to help realize your goals.
We have agreements in place with leading travel companies, trade associations and individuals to provide this type of knowledge and skill training. We are prepared to move quickly once the educational programs are available. Additionally, we are prepared to leverage our information technology, tremendous reach, and communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration’s economic growth efforts. Our reach allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the mission to re-energize our economy, and we stand ready to assist you in this effort.
Since the beginning of this crisis, we have worked hard to ensure the safety of our people and to provide the education this industry needs to advance careers, help businesses grow, and get more people traveling. We are committed to assisting your administration’s efforts as we work together to protect our communities and recover from this economic crisis.
Sincerely,
Stephen Ekstrom, Chief Strategist
Sheena Works, Chief Learning Officer
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