U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez has named AmericanTours International’s CEO/Chair Noel Irwin Hentschel to serve her 5th term on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Board. The new appointment extends Hentschel’s continuing tenure on the advisory board to Sept. 21, 2009.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff continue on the board as Ex-Officio members.
In her role as tourism advisor to the Commerce Dept., Hentschel worked behind the scenes with Secretary Gutierrez in helping to secure the Approved Destination Status (ADS) for the U.S. with China, signed just last December.
The important bilateral agreement, designed to lift travel restrictions for Chinese leisure tourists to the U.S., brought the first 240 Chinese visitors to America last month. Similar travel groups coming this year are expected to trigger an economic boom for America as Chinese tourism dollars flood into U.S. cities. The new pact, in Los Angeles alone, is projected to bring in at least 66,000 new Chinese travelers who will spend an average of $62 million there in the next year.
Noel revealed that ATI has been in the China tourism market for over three years, but the Asian country became her company’s main focus in 2006 as a result of her trade mission to Beijing with Secretary Gutierrez that year.
“In a meeting I attended there between the Secretary and then Vice Premier, Madam Wu Yi,” Noel recalled, “the Secretary was asked to help make it possible for more Chinese to travel to America and to help reduce the existing trade deficit.”
Noel said that the Secretary’s answer to Madam Wu was that he would and he did. “This major bilateral agreement,” she stated, “is a great example of a successful private/public initiative successfully negotiated by the Secretary.”
Secretary Gutierrez declared that Hentschel’s knowledge and experience are critical in providing advice and counsel on issues and concerns that affect the U.S. travel and tourism industry.
“Noel will continue to be invaluable,” he said, “in helping to solve conflicts since the Board provides a forum for discussing and proposing solutions to industry-related problems.”
Expressing his thanks for Hentschel’s willingness to devote time and effort to the Board’s important work, Gutierrez added that he looked forward to continuing his work with the nationally known high level tourism operator so that together they might help “strengthen the U.S. travel and tourism industry.”
The U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board is comprised of tourism industry executives from across the United States. The selected members represent a bi-partisan cross-section of the industry. The Board’s recent appointments also include Carlson Companies Chairman/CEO Marilyn Carlson Nelson to the post of Chairman and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Director of Aviation William DeCota, who will serve as vice chair.
According to Secretary Gutierrez, U.S. and travel-related tourism industries annually contribute more than $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy, helping to support more than 8.6 million American jobs. “Last year, the United States set new records for total arrivals and spending, welcoming 56 million international travelers who contributed $122 billion to the U.S. economy,” he said. “The Travel and Tourism Board provides support for this valuable, global industry by advising the Department of Commerce on key issues.”
Hentschel’s AmericanTours International is the largest privately held, inbound/outbound tourism and marketing organization in the United States. It serves one-million visitors annually from more than 70 countries around the world and is responsible for bringing $3 billion into the U.S. economy, annually. Based in Los Angeles adjacent to LAX, the company has offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Orlando, Honolulu, Maui and Beijing, China.
Contacts:
Mike Casey, 310-248-4476 (direct)
mcasey@hspr.net
