On The Road At IPW 2015

The Obama administration is dedicated to making America even more attractive as a destination by taking a “whole of government” approach to travel and tourism.

That was the upbeat message delivered to some 6,500 IPW delegates by US commerce department secretary Penny Pritzker, reports Press Today’s Mike Dunbar.

According to Pritzker, the approach is led by President Obama who, she said, “understood right from the beginning how important travel and tourism is to the US economy.”

She added, “We do not take our visitors for granted. We want more travelers to visit America but we know that other destinations are trying to woo your customers elsewhere.”

But she noted, “Since the president announced the Travel and Tourism National Strategy three years ago, America has expanded to 75 million visitors.”

Seen in the photo: US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker cuts the ribbon to officially open this year’s IPW trade show in Orlando. She’s flanked by (left) Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs and (right) US Travel Association CEO Roger Dow.