Travel Industry Association Launches Multimedia Advertising Campaign in Battleground States

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Travel Industry Association (TIA) today unveiled a bold campaign to encourage Senators Obama and McCain to detail their plans for improving the domestic and international travel process during their upcoming party conventions. The multimedia initiative, part of TIA's year-long "Change the Debate" campaign, targets voters in the battleground and travel-dependent areas ofOrlando, Florida andLas Vegas, Nevada. Voters in these areas will be asked to grade the candidates' acceptance speeches based on how well they address issues of interest to the travel community.

"Travel is vital to the American economy," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association. "Today's deteriorating air travel system, skyrocketing fuel prices and poorly communicated security policies are deterring domestic and international inbound travel and costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars. It is time for presidential leadership on these critical issues."

Two million fewer overseas travelers visitedthe United States in 2007 than in 2000 -- despite an extraordinarily weak dollar and a worldwide boom in international travel. The decline in overseas arrivals since 9/11 has cost America nearly $140 billion in visitor spending, 230,000 jobs and countless public diplomacy opportunities. On the domestic side, a recent TIA survey revealed that air travel delays, cancellations and inefficient security screening led travelers to avoid 41 million trips over the past year, resulting in a greater than $25 billion hit to the U.S. economy. With an economy that may be tipping into recession, America cannot afford this level of disruption.

Working with Mike Murphy, a nationally recognized communications strategist, TIA's initiative involves a series of print ads in each market supported by an Internet grading system. The first print ad will establish the issue forOrlando andLas Vegas voters with the message "We are listening" aimed at the candidates. The second ad will reinforce the "We are listening" message with "We'll be listening ... and grading" the candidates' convention speeches. The third ad will be the report card that viewers can use to assign a grade to each candidate's speech.

Polling shows that voters inNevada andFlorida overwhelmingly believe that travel and tourism is important to their economies, and for the first time, they are looking for a candidate to address these critical issues.

The Travel Industry Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $740 billion travel industry. TIA's mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and withinthe United States. TIA is proud to be a partner in travel with American Express. For more information, visit http://www.tia.org.

Summary of Orlando Market Survey by McLaughlin & Associates: The survey results highlight that likely voters in theOrlando market strongly believe that the travel and tourism industry is very important to their area's economy. They don't believe the current condition of the travel and tourism industry is strong and it goes without saying that they want to see the condition of the industry improve. Despite potential security concerns, the majority believes that as long as security standards are met, travel regulations should be streamlined to make it easier and more efficient for foreign travelers and tourists to visitthe United States. In their opinion, the best way to improve the image ofthe United States is by using an advertising campaign in foreign countries promoting travel and tourism tothe United States. Clearly, this is a great opportunity for congressional, senate and presidential candidates to capitalize on voters' opinions by campaigning on travel and tourism proposals that will streamline travel regulations while maintaining security standards; improve the economy and help the United State's image around the world. TheOrlando media market is a key battleground region, especially considering thatOrlando is part of the critical I-4 corridor that tends to swing to decideFlorida elections. In 2004, 19% of the total vote came from theOrlando media market. Currently, John McCain and Barack Obama are running neck and neck. Likewise, the generic ballot for Congress is in a dead heat.

-- Ballot for President: John McCain has a narrow 1-point advantage over Barack Obama (41% to 40%) with 19% remaining undecided. The travel and tourism messages and proposals in this survey will help a candidate maximize their voter support in this key battleground region ofFlorida.

-- Generic Ballot for Congress: Democrat candidates for Congress have a slight 1-point lead over Republican candidates (40% to 39%) with 20% remaining undecided. Like the presidential ballot, candidates for Congress will benefit from campaigning on the travel and tourism messages and proposals in this survey.

-- "How important is the travel and tourism industry to your area's economy?" Nine in ten (91%) likely voters in theOrlando market believe the travel and tourism industry is important to their area's economy. More than two-thirds (70%) believes the travel and tourism is VERY important to the area's economy. Only 8% thinks the travel and tourism industry is not important to the area's economy.

-- "How would you rate the current condition of the travel and tourism industry inOrlando?" Considering how important the travel and tourism industry is in theOrlando area, the constituents don't think the condition of the industry is great. A little over a half (51%) thinks the condition of the travel and tourism industry inOrlando is either excellent (14%) or good (37%) while more than one-third (36%) has a more negative perception (26% fair and 11% poor).

-- "Are you aware or unaware thatthe United States is the only developed nation in the world that has no nationally coordinated effort to promote travel to its own country?" Most (82%) likely voters in theOrlando market are unaware thatthe United States is the only developed nation that has no nationally coordinated effort to promote travel to its own country. Only 14% is aware.

-- "Are you aware or unaware that since September 11th it has become more difficult for travelers from other countries likeEngland,France,China and Germany to visitthe United States?" Nearly two-thirds (65%) say they are aware that since the September 11th terrorist attacks it has become more difficult for foreign travelers to visitthe United States. One-third (33%) is unaware.

-- "As long as security standards are met, should travel regulations be streamlined in a way to make it easier and more efficient for foreign travelers and tourists to visitthe United States?" Despite potential security concerns, the majority (51%) believes that as long as security standards are met, travel regulations should be streamlined to make it easier and more efficient for foreign travelers and tourists to visitthe United States. Around one-third (35%) would be against the streamlining and 14% don't know.

-- "Which of the following do you believe would be the most helpful tothe United States in its efforts to improve the image of our country abroad?" A large plurality (45%) believes the best way to improve the image ofthe United States is by using an advertising campaign in foreign countries promoting travel and tourism tothe United States. One-quarter (25%) says more Americans traveling abroad and meeting more people who live in other countries would be the most effective way. Only 14% thinks United State government officials traveling abroad to promote the country would be the best approach.

Methodology: This survey of 250 likely voters in theOrlando media market was conducted on August 6-7, 2008. All interviews were conducted via telephone by professional interviewers. Interview selection was random within predetermined election units. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter turnout. The survey of 250 likely voters has an accuracy of +/- 6.2% at the 95% confidence interval.

Summary of Las Vegas Market Survey by McLaughlin & Associates: The survey results highlight that likely voters in theLas Vegas market strongly believe that the travel and tourism industry is very important to their area's economy. They don't believe the current condition of the travel and tourism industry is strong and it goes without saying that they want to see the condition of the industry improve. Despite potential security concerns, a clear majority believes that as long as security standards are met, travel regulations should be streamlined to make it easier and more efficient for foreign travelers and tourists to visitthe United States. In their opinion, the best way to improve the image ofthe United States is by using an advertising campaign in foreign countries promoting travel and tourism tothe United States. Clearly, this is a great opportunity for congressional, senate and presidential candidates to capitalize on voters' opinions by campaigning on travel and tourism proposals that will streamline travel regulations while maintaining security standards; improve the economy and help the United State's image around the world. Clearly, theLas Vegas media market will decide who winsNevada. In 2004, 68% of the total vote came from theLas Vegas media market. The presidential election is tight with Barack Obama leading John McCain. Likewise, the generic ballot for Congress is close with the Democrat candidate leading the Republican candidate.

-- Ballot for President: Barack Obama has a narrow 5-point advantage over John McCain (43% to 38%) with 19% remaining undecided. The travel and tourism messages and proposals in this survey will help a candidate maximize their voter support in this key battleground region ofNevada.

-- Generic Ballot for Congress: Democrat candidates for Congress have a slight 4-point lead over Republican candidates (42% to 38%) with 20% remaining undecided. Like the presidential ballot, candidates for Congress will benefit from campaigning on the travel and tourism messages and proposals in this survey.

-- "How important is the travel and tourism industry to your area's economy?" Almost all (95%) of the likely voters in theLas Vegas market believe the travel and tourism industry is important to their area's economy. Close to 9 in 10 (86%) believe the travel and tourism is VERY important to the area's economy. Only 5% thinks the travel and tourism industry is not important to the area's economy.

-- "How would you rate the current condition of the travel and tourism industry inLas Vegas?" Considering how important the travel and tourism industry is inLas Vegas, the constituents don't think the condition of the industry is great. A little over a half (54%) thinks the condition of the travel and tourism industry inLas Vegas is either excellent (12%) or good (42%) while more than 2 in 5 (42%) has a more negative perception (29% fair and 13% poor).

-- "Are you aware or unaware thatthe United States is the only developed nation in the world that has no nationally coordinated effort to promote travel to its own country?" Most (82%) likely voters in theLas Vegas market are unaware thatthe United States is the only developed nation that has no nationally coordinated effort to promote travel to its own country. Only 16% is aware.

-- "Are you aware or unaware that since September 11th it has become more difficult for travelers from other countries likeEngland,France,China and Germany to visitthe United States?" More than two-thirds (68%) say they are aware that since the September 11th terrorist attacks it has become more difficult for foreign travelers to visitthe United States. A little less than one-third (30%) is unaware.

-- "As long as security standards are met, should travel regulations be streamlined in a way to make it easier and more efficient for foreign travelers and tourists to visitthe United States?" Despite potential security concerns, nearly two-thirds (64%) believes that as long as security standards are met, travel regulations should be streamlined to make it easier and more efficient for foreign travelers and tourists to visitthe United States. Around one-quarter (27%) would be against the streamlining and 9% don't know.

-- "Which of the following do you believe would be the most helpful tothe United States in its efforts to improve the image of our country abroad?" Nearly half (48%) believes the best way to improve the image ofthe United States is by using an advertising campaign in foreign countries promoting travel and tourism tothe United States. A little over one-quarter (28%) says more Americans traveling abroad and meeting more people who live in other countries would be the most effective way. Only 7% thinks United State government officials traveling abroad to promote the country would be the best approach.

Methodology: This survey of 250 likely voters in theLas Vegas media market was conducted on August 6-7, 2008. All interviews were conducted via telephone by professional interviewers. Interview selection was random within predetermined election units. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter turnout. The survey of 250 likely voters has an accuracy of +/- 6.2% at the 95% confidence interval.

SOURCE Travel Industry Association

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