LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen visited the Neon Museum in Las Vegas with its Executive Director, Aaron Berger, to discuss how her bipartisan Travel and Tourism Act will strengthen the U.S. travel and tourism industry and help bringing more visitors to areas like Las Vegas. The bill signed into law last week appoints an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism to oversee the strategy across the federal government. Currently, there is no senior position in the federal government focused solely on coordinating a federal travel and tourism strategy.
“A Las Vegas landmark like the Neon Museum relies on a strong and vibrant travel and tourism industry that brings visitors to our state. That’s why I worked to pass my bipartisan legislation to strengthen this critical sector of our economy.” said Senator Rosen. “By creating the first federal position to coordinate a national travel and tourism strategy, it will help communities across Nevada continue to grow, growing their economies and creating new jobs.”
“It was an honor to host Senator Jacky Rosen at the Neon Museum today. She has worked tirelessly in Washington, DC to protect the travel and tourism industry, particularly through the introduction of the Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act. said Aaron Berger, Executive Director of the Neon Museum. “Tourism is a key industry in Nevada and was severely impacted by the 2020 shutdown and the pandemic-related travel declines that followed. As our participation numbers continue to grow, we welcome national support to provide strategies that expand awareness and appreciation of cultural tourism in Nevada.
Senator Rosen’s bipartisan legislation was endorsed by more than a dozen major Nevada-based and national groups, including the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the Nevada Resort Association, the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, the Association of US Travel, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the American Gaming Association, the Global Business Travel Association and the American Association of Travel Advisors.
Senator Rosen has been a leader in the fight to restore the travel and tourism industry to its full potential. Tourism is one of Nevada’s major industries and employs approximately 350,000 Nevadans. Rosen was part of a bipartisan group that negotiated the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, where she specifically helped write the section of the bill that included more than $58 million in funding for Nevada airports. This also included her legislation calling for the National Strategic Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Plan to be updated to develop a long-term and immediate strategy for the Department of Transportation (DOT) and other agencies to use infrastructure investments to revived the travel and tourism industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Neon Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving and exhibiting iconic Las Vegas signs for educational, historical, artistic and cultural enrichment.
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