U.S. Travel eager to work with Commerce Secretary Raimondo

Gina Raimondo
Commerce Secretary Raimondo

In an overwhelming US Senate vote of 84-15, the now former Governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo, has been confirmed as the next Commerce Secretary.

  1. Raimondo steps down from her position as Governor and moves to Washington DC to become a member of the Biden administration.
  2. U.S. Travel Association says Raimondo brings strong leadership to a Cabinet agency that will be pivotal to restarting the devastated travel industry.
  3. In her role as Governor, Raimondo was an advocate for investment in travel and tourism as a cornerstone of her stateโ€™s economic recovery.

The Governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo, has been confirmed by the US Senate as the next Secretary of the U.S. Commerce Department with a vote of 84-15. Under the direction of Commerce Secretary Raimondo will be an eclectic group of agencies: Census Bureau, Minority Business Development Agency, US Patent and Trademark Office, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Raimondo steps down from her position as Governor and moves to Washington DC to become a member of the Biden administration.

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on the U.S. Senateโ€™s confirmation of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo:

โ€œSec. Raimondo brings strong leadership to a Cabinet agency that will be pivotal to an important and difficult task: restarting the devastated U.S. travel industry as the country finally emerges from the pandemic.

โ€œLeisure and hospitality accounts for 39% of all U.S. jobs lost to the pandemic, and the travel industry is projected to take five years to fully recover from this crisis. But with a bold, focused, national strategy, the U.S. Department of Commerce can lead a multi-agency effort to accelerate rehiring in the travel industry and shorten the timeline for recovery, while also helping to reunite Americans with each other and the world.

โ€œAs a governor, Sec. Raimondo advocated for investment in travel and tourism as a cornerstone of her stateโ€™s economic recovery, and we are confident she will bring that same sensibility to her leadership of the Commerce Department. We are ready and eager to work with her to chart the recovery course for one of the largest American industries, which will be critical to the U.S. economic and jobs recovery at large.โ€

#rebuildingtravel

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz, eTN editor

Linda Hohnholz, eTN editor

Linda Hohnholz has been writing and editing articles since the start of her working career. She has applied this innate passion to such places as Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade University, the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center, and now TravelNewsGroup.

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