Tourism Cares has ushered together a group of 12 travel industry associations to develop and promote the Destination Disaster Recovery Fund with an aim to emerge as a primary resource for tourism-related recovery efforts for the hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Mike Rea who is the CEO of Tourism Cares mentioned that they are eager to act as the Red Cross for the tourism industry, especially since the hurricane-ravaged destinations are highly dependent on tourism.
The fund is being supported and actively promoted by the American Bus Association, CLIA, Destinations International, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, National Association of Career Travel Agents, National Tour Association, Skal International USA, ASTA, Student and Youth Tourism Association, U.S. Travel Association and U.S. Tour Operators Association.
Rea said that such a level of cooperation is unexpected in the travel sector.
Additional trade groups are free to join.
This fund would be supporting the three regions that are most impacted by the two hurricanes including the Texas Gulf Coast, the Caribbean and the hardest hit portions of Florida. It would be focusing on the recovery of tourism sites and communities, leveraging the influence and skills of the travel industry and partnering with local organizations like the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and the Texas Travel Industry Association to identify the largest tourism-related requirements.
Roger Dow who is the CEO and president of the U.S. Travel Association mentioned that this is a time for the entire industry to come together and enable the recovery of these destinations and the different tourism communities they support.
Tourism Cares has established certain key goals for the recovery fund, as it is well-equipped with a good amount of experience in dealing with the after-effects and impact on tourism economies of previous natural disasters.
