US travel tips

Chris Nassetta, CEO of Hilton and incoming national chair of the U.S. Travel Association, called on Wednesday for U.S. government officials to cut visa wait times that he said were hurting the country’s domestic travel sector and U.S. federal revenues.

Many American tourism marketers are well-paid. Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta recently collected more than $1.5 million in compensation. Brand USA CEO Chris Thompson recently took home over $700,000.

In a survey by Skift Research, 43% of U.S. travelers said their dream vacation was as financially challenging to achieve as in 2019.

The U.S. Senate passed key government funding bills Friday evening — with one that included “up to $3.5 million of funding for the office of the assistant secretary of commerce for travel and tourism.

The U.S. State Department issued on Thursday a “worldwide caution” to Americans traveling abroad as the war between Israel and Hamas stokes tensions globally. Americans were advised to “stay alert in locations frequented by tourists.”

More than one-in-five Americans plan on vacationing in a foreign country in the near future, the highest share ever recorded, even as overall consumer confidence was dragged down by worsening inflation expectations in August.

The Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau recently ended its tourism partnership with the City of Sedona because the local government wouldn’t allow it to restart destination marketing. The move came in the wake of a November election that saw a mayor and council member voted out and that was seen as a referendum on resident attitudes toward tourism.