United States-Mexico Tourism Improvement Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 951 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 11, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To promote bilateral tourism through cooperation between the United States and Mexico. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H951.RFS H951 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 951 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Mexico 2 Tourism Improvement Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) The United States and Mexico have bene- 6 fitted economically from a bilateral, mutually bene- 7 ficial partnership focused on enhancing the tourism 8 industry in both countries. 9 (2) In 2016, Mexican tourism to the United 10 States peaked at 18,990,585 visitors, constituting 1 11 in 4 (24.9 percent) of all tourists that year. 12 (3) Additionally, in 2016, spending by Mexican 13 tourists in the United States totaled $20.3 billion, 14 which represented a 3 percent growth from 2015. 15 (4) Tourist activity to the United States from 16 Mexico has declined since 2016, which is in contrast 17 to an overall international tourism industry increase 18 in the United States. 19 (5) In 2017, international tourist arrivals to- 20 taled 76,900,000, up 0.7 percent from 76,400,000 in 21 2016. 22 (6) The same year, 77,000,000 international 23 visitors spent a record $251.4 billion on hotels, trav- 24 el, food, and souvenirs, a 2-percent increase over 25 2016. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H951.RFS H951 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 951 RFS (7) However, also in 2017, there was a 6.1-per- 1 cent decline in visitors to the United States from 2 Mexico, comprising a loss of 1,166,585 Mexican 3 tourists from 2016. 4 (8) The Department of Commerce has not yet 5 released 2017 spending totals by Mexican tourists in 6 the United States, but a corresponding monetary de- 7 cline would be approximately $1.24 billion in lost 8 revenue. 9 (9) This is a critical economic trend given that 10 Mexico is the biggest source of international visitors 11 to the United States after Canada. 12 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 13 It is the policy of the United States— 14 (1) to continue deepening bilateral tourism 15 through governmental cooperation between the 16 United States and Mexico; 17 (2) to improve third-party tourism to the 18 United States and Mexico through joint inter- 19 national promotional efforts; and 20 (3) to seek to prioritize and expand the tourism 21 industries in both countries by emphasizing ex- 22 changes in various international economic sectors, 23 including relating to— 24 (A) hospitality and accommodation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H951.RFS H951 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 951 RFS (B) retail; and 1 (C) cultural education. 2 SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO EXPAND BILATERAL TOURISM 3 THROUGH COOPERATION WITH MEXICO. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall de- 5 velop a strategy through the High Level Economic Dia- 6 logue (HLED) platform to carry out the bilateral tourism 7 policy described in section 3 and to encourage the Govern- 8 ment of Mexico to take reciprocal action relating to bilat- 9 eral tourism. 10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub- 11 section (a) shall— 12 (1) encourage more joint tourism initiatives be- 13 tween the United States and Mexico, including col- 14 laborations between governmental and non-govern- 15 mental entities; and 16 (2) encourage United States and Mexican non- 17 profit institutions and private businesses to assist 18 prospective and developing entrepreneurs in 19 strengthening their business skills in the United 20 States and Mexico. 21 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 22 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H951.RFS H951 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 951 RFS submit to Congress a report on the strategy required 1 under subsection (a). 2 Passed the House of Representatives June 10, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:45 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H951.RFS H951 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS