U.S. Congress has passed a measure to avert a threatened US default and reopen the federal government.
President Obama signed bill approved by both chambers reopening federal government and averting a US default.
The U.S. Travel Association estimates that the partial government shutdown cost the U.S. $152 million a day in economic output due to lost travel-related activity, and affected as many as 450,000 American workers directly or indirectly supported by the travel industry.
The Statue of Liberty reopened Sunday morning thanks to state funding after it had been closed for 12 days as a result of the partial government shutdown. Alcatraz Island is also now open to the public and welcoming passengers to board Alcatraz Cruises for the popular national parks’ Alcatraz Prison tour. Starting Thursday, October 17, 2013, normal operations will resume.
During the shutdown, countries such as Germany, the U.K. and China—which together account for more than five million visitors to the U.S. annually—issued warnings to their citizens about possible shutdown-related problems and delays when traveling to and within the U.S.
U.S. Travel President and CEO Roger Dow said, "The shutdown's damage cannot be undone, but reopening the government will allow America's travel community to get back to work and continue to drive U.S. economic recovery."
