For immediate release





Contact:
Alisa Harrison, 202-628-8000
Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770



aharrison@franchise.org


mhaller@franchise.org


twitter.com/franchising411


 

 



WASHINGTON, May 18, 2011
–The International Franchise Association announced today its support for the


Discover America Partnership

to help create $1.3 million U.S. jobs and add $859 billion to the U.S. economy by 2020 by reforming immigration policy that often drives international travelers to other countries. 



“Travelers to the U.S. are significant customers for the nearly 825,000 franchised businesses in the U.S., including franchise business categories such as restaurants, hotels, retail products and services, business services and personal services,” said IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “Boosting travel to the U.S. will create jobs and increase economic output in the $2.1 trillion franchise industry, so what is good for the travel industry, is good for the franchise industry.” 



The IFA joined the U.S. Travel Association’s Discover America Partnership  to achieve the goals announced in a new USTA report,



Ready for Takeoff: A Plan to Create 1.3 Million U.S. Jobs by Welcoming Millions of International Travelers


. The report’s comprehensive, four-step plan will help the United States achieve its goal of becoming more competitive in the global travel market, which in turn will expand U.S. exports, create new jobs and drive economic growth. The report recommends: 



  • America must align U.S. State Department resources with market demands 


  • America must reduce visa interview wait times to 10 days or fewer 


  • The U.S. State Department must improve planning, measurement and transparency; and 


  • America must expand the Visa Waiver Program. 



According to the USTA, by failing to keep pace with the growth in global long-haul international travel between 2000 and 2010, the United States lost the opportunity to welcome 78 million more visitors and generate $606 billion in direct and downstream spending-enough to support more than 467,000 additional U.S. jobs annually over those years, many of these in franchised businesses. 



The Discover America Partnership is chaired by the USTA. Other leadership participants, in addition to the IFA, include the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The groups will collectively engage in lobbying and grassroots activities to advance visa and entry reforms that will enable the United States to regain the 17 percent market share of overseas travelers it had in 2000 by 2015. 

 

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About the International Franchise Association

The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA protects, enhances and promotes franchising through government relations, public relations and educational programs. Through its awareness campaign highlighting the theme,
Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time,IFA promotes the nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic activity generated by franchising. IFA members include franchise companies in over 90 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.

 

 

 

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