US shutdown ‘could go on for weeks’
As the US federal government partial shutdown entered its second day, the US Travel Association warned it could do serious harm to the country’s economy.
President and CEO Roger Dow said the closure of national parks and historic sites to millions of travellers – coupled with the general perception of an uncertain travel process – would cause immediate damage.
Already several national parks have closed, including the Statue of Liberty, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.
However, there is no sign of the partial shutdown of the US federal government ending and both Republicans and Democrats have warned it could continue for several weeks. "Previous experience tells us that a shutdown unnecessarily disrupts economic activity in communities large and small that depend upon travel spending for employment and tax revenue.
"Travel, our country’s No.1 services export and an industry that has added jobs at a rate three times faster than the economy as a whole since 2010, is particularly vulnerable to the perception that a disruption of services will make our customer experience go less than smoothly.
"While we recognize that basic travel functions will continue, we are concerned that federal agencies will quickly be forced to implement shutdown policies that will damage the travel experience and derail long-term, bipartisan investments in our travel infrastructure.
"We urge our leaders to tackle changes to the federal balance sheet that will let our economic recovery continue unimpeded. The travel industry stands ready to assist with that process in whatever way we can."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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