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Travel group terms Obama plan short-sided
An effort by the Obama Administration to go green may cause the US travel industry to lose green, said the US Travel Association.
Calling a White House plan “short-sighted and counterproductive,” the US Travel Association protested against an effort by the Obama Administration to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions through cutting business travel by government employees.
“The effort announced by President Obama aims to reduce pollution from indirect sources, such as federal-employee travel and commuting, by 13 percent by 2010,” according to PeterGreenberg.com.
According to White House figures, the combined reductions to federal employee travel would be the equivalent of removing emissions from 235 million barrels of oil.
US Travel, however, is emphasizing that less government participation in meetings, trade shows and other types of business travel will lead to job losses for American workers employed in the travel industry.
With around two million Americans working in the business travel industry, a decline in business travel would lead to job losses in an already tough economic climate. The travel industry has already lost more than 400,000 jobs over the last two years, and the BP oil spill may cause thousands more travel industry workers to become unemployed, the US Travel Association said.
Instead of cutting business trips, US Travel has encouraged the Obama Administration to work with the travel community to promote sustainable travel practices.
US Travel also cited an Oxford Economics study which found that government travel produces a more than 5 to 1 return on investment.
By David Wilkening
David
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