ASTA praises Obama travel plan

Tony Gonchar, ASTA CEO, has praised steps taken by President Barak Obama to elevate travel and tourism to a fuller role in rebuilding the United States economy. President Obama announced a major travel and tourism initiative yesterday at Walt Disney World in Orlando. “President Obama has recognized the potential of the tourism sector to create more jobs, add fiscal growth to our national economy, and improved our balance of trade. ASTA is particularly pleased to see the focus on increasing visa waiver countries, reducing visa interview and visa issuance waiting times, and streamlining access to the United States by making the Global Entry Program permanent,”said Gonchar. “As an association with member travel agents worldwide, this will enable our members to assist their customers to see more of the United States, do it more easily, and hopefully, more often.”