Hospitality & Tourism
Almost 15 million Americans work in tourism and hospitality—in hotels, amusement parks, art museums, and restaurants—making it the fifth largest industry in the country.1 Many of these jobs depend on our immigration and visa systems. International tourists create high demand for the tourism industry. Meanwhile, many employers have trouble finding enough American workers to staff resorts, hotels, and attractions. Current policies not only discourage international tourists and business travelers, but also keep American businesses from finding the workers on which the tourism industry relies.
1 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “Industry employment and output projection to 2024,” Monthly Labor Review, December 2015. Available online.
Passport to Future Economic Growth
The Partnership for a New American Economy’s new report, “Passport to Future Economic Growth: How Expanding the Visa Waiver Program Will Strengthen the U.S. Economy and Create American Tourism Jobs,” shows that smarter tourist visa laws would add more than $7.5 billion in U.S. revenue and 50,000 U.S. jobs within 5… Read More
How America’s Visa Laws Affect the Travel Industry
International tourists are significant revenue generators, and their travel to the United States creates American jobs. But the country’s visa laws make it difficult for international tourists to visit America, having negative consequences for hotels, restaurants, and small businesses that are part of the travel industry in communities across the country. Watch… Read More
Study Shows Smarter Tourist Visa Laws Would Add More Than $7.5 Billion in Revenue and 50,000 Jobs within Five Years
CONTACT Ryan Williams, New American Economy, [email protected] Tourism ad to air in airports, taxicabs, movie theaters, on Facebook and Twitter Watch the ad here. New York, NY — The New American Economy (NAE) today released a new study showing how expanding… Read More
Hope for the unfinished business of immigration reform
Conventional wisdom has it that immigration reform is dead. I couldn’t disagree more. Though action on reform this year is unlikely, the political calculus is shifting, creating a window of opportunity in 2015. Even so, stubborn myths persist about immigration reform, namely, that Republicans don’t support it, that it’s bad… Read More
Time for US House action on immigration
As a businessperson vitally concerned about jobs and the economy, I continue to be surprised by the lack of urgency in the U.S. House of Representatives to deal with a crucial economic issue — immigration reform. I hope the recent primary election defeat of House majority leader Eric… Read More
Immigration reform impacts downtown Greenville restaurants too
South Carolina’s food system relies on immigrant labor, without which all of us would suffer, that was the message at an immigration reform event Thursday morning at Soby’s Restaurant in Greenville. Part local foods pep rally, part call to action, the event was organized by both the Partnership for a… Read More
Greenville Farmers, Restaurateurs Stress Importance of Immigration Labor
GREENVILLE, S.C. – South Carolina farmers are discussing the importance of immigration labor. The Partnership for a New American Economy and the South Carolina Farm Bureau hosted “Field 2 Fork” in Greenville Thursday. During the event, farmers and restaurateurs demonstrated how agriculture products grown in the… Read More
“Field 2 Fork” Event Showcases Impact of Immigrant Labor on South Carolina’s Agricultural Supply Chain
Supply-chain aided at each step by immigrant labor #Field2ForkSC GREENVILLE, SC — Today the Partnership for a New American Economy and the South Carolina Farm Bureau hosted a “Field 2 Fork” event demonstrating how agricultural products grown in South Carolina travel from farm… Read More
Immigration Reform Needed Now, Not Later, For American Food Chain to Remain Intact Industry Leaders Say
Industry leaders involved in all aspects of America’s food supply met in Provo to discuss the immediate need for immigration reform and how the current system negatively impacts the U.S.’s food industry. Staffers from the offices Representative Jason Chaffetz and Chris Stewart met representatives from the… Read More
Farmers and local businesses call for immigration reform
PROVO — If you think immigration reform doesn’t have anything to do with you, think again the next time you look at your dinner plate. It is possible an immigrant worker played a role in getting the food you are eating from the farm, to the store… Read More
Immigrant Workers
It is hard to imagine the country’s $700 billion tourism and hospitality industry2 without the contributions of immigrants. In 2015, foreign-born workers made up more than one out of every five workers in the sector—and even larger shares of those employed in more labor-intensive roles.3 In states where tourism and hospitality is especially vital, immigrants represent a significantly larger share of the workforce than the population overall.
Sources:
2 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Table 1: Value Added by Industry,” annual estimates for 2015, accessed October 25, 2016. Available online.
3 Author’s calculations from the 2015 American Community Survey.
Table sources: Author’s calculations from the 2015 American Community Survey.
States Where Immigrants Are the Most Overrepresented in the Hospitality Workforce, 2014
The Role of Foreign-Born Workers in Selected Labor-Intensive Hospitality and Tourism Roles, 2015
More Workers Needed
As the tourism and hospitality industry expands, it will need additional workers to maintain, service, and manage venues across the country. However, between 2010 and 2020, almost 80 percent of all the projected new positions in the industry will require less than a bachelor’s degree.4 This growth is at odds with nationwide demographic trends, as the number of U.S.-born individuals at that skill level is declining.
Sources:
4 Author’s calculations of a straight-line projection using data from the Current Population Survey, 2002-2015.
5 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “Industry employment and output projection to 2024,” Monthly Labor Review, December 2015. Available online.
Table source: Burning Glass Technologies
States with the Greatest Need for Hospitality Workers, 2015
The Impact of International Visitors
While domestic travelers still account for the largest share of U.S. tourism expenditures, international tourists are critical to the strength of the industry overall. On average, international tourists spend $4,500 on goods and services each time they visit the United States—making tourism our country’s largest export in recent years.6 That spending has a ripple effect on the broader economy. The U.S. Travel Association estimates that every $1 million spent by foreign visitors creates 6.6 tourism jobs.7 Each tourism job, in turn, indirectly supports 1.5 jobs in related industries such as construction, marketing, accounting, and manufacturing.8
Sources:
6 "Statement from U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker on President Obama’s Executive Actions to Welcome More International Visitors," Commerce.gov, May 22, 2014. Available online.
7 U.S. Travel Association, “Travel Exports: Driving Economic Growth and Creating American Jobs,” September 10, 2014. Available online.
8 World Tourism Organization and International Labour Organization, “Measuring Employment in the Tourism Industries – Guide with Best Practices,” UNWTO, Madrid, 2014. Available online.
Table source: Burning Glass Technologies
The Current System Hampers International Travel
Since September 11, necessary security measures and visa restrictions have made travel more difficult for many international tourists. One way to increase the number of international travelers to the United States, while still safeguarding security, would be to expand the number of countries eligible for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Participating countries must meet stringent security standards for vetting potential U.S. visitors and share information about possible terrorist and criminal threats, general and specific, with the U.S. government. Research finds that when a country joins VWP, the number of visitors from that country to the United States increases substantially.
Sources:
9 New American Economy, "Passport to Future Economic Growth," December 15, 2014. Available online.
10 Ibid.
Reforming the H-2B Visa
Tourism and hospitality companies across the United States depend on immigrant workers to help fill seasonal and labor-intensive jobs that would otherwise remain vacant. In 1986, under President Ronald Reagan, the H-2B visa program was created to allow immigrants to enter the country legally as temporary workers. Unfortunately, as currently administered, the H-2B program is too cumbersome and costly—and riddled with delays—to be useful to many U.S. businesses. Many employers say the supply of available visas is also far too limited to meet actual labor needs.
Sources:
11 Estimate based on figures provided by the H-2B Workforce Coalition and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s 2015 Annual Report.
12 “Immigration Myths and Facts,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce, April 14, 2016. Available online.
Impact on the States
Getting immigration reform right for the tourism and hospitality industry will be critical for many states, particularly those where the sector accounts for a substantial share of the state’s GDP. For example: in 2014, more than one out of every six dollars of GDP in Nevada was tied to the tourism and hospitality industry, as were almost one in 10 dollars of GDP in Hawaii. In Nevada, immigrants frequently hold the kinds of low-level and labor-intensive jobs that not only allow hotels and casinos to thrive, but also help create jobs for American workers at a variety of skill levels.
Table sources: Data on GDP come from the BEA’s estimates for annual GDP by state by major industry sector. Information about jobs comes from the 2014 American Community Survey.
States Most Dependent on a Strong Tourism Workforce, 2014
Top 10 Occupations Most Reliant on Immigrants in Nevada, 2014 (All Sectors)
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