{"id":10912,"date":"2023-11-08T00:22:15","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T00:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rosen-testing.senate.gov\/?p=10912"},"modified":"2023-11-08T00:22:16","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T00:22:16","slug":"rosen-leads-tourism-subcommittee-hearing-highlights-nevadas-sustainable-tourism-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rosen.senate.gov\/es\/2023\/11\/08\/rosen-leads-tourism-subcommittee-hearing-highlights-nevadas-sustainable-tourism-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosen Leads Tourism Subcommittee Hearing, Highlights Nevada\u2019s Sustainable Tourism Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/a>Watch Senator Rosen\u2019s opening remarks <\/strong>HERE<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 <\/strong>Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), chair of the Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion, led a hearing to examine how to build a sustainable travel and tourism sector that also protects natural resources and ensures responsible development. The hearing focused on how to balance the needs of businesses, visitors, and local communities to support sustainable tourism. During the hearing, Senator Rosen highlighted Nevada\u2019s outdoor recreation industry, including at Lake Tahoe, Great Basin National Park, and Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witnesses for the hearing included Executive Director of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Julie Regan; Global ESG and Head of Sustainability at Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Jean Garris Hand; and Director of WNC: Made By Mountains Partnership, Amy Allison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Rosen has been a champion for Nevada\u2019s travel and tourism economy. Earlier this year, she hosted a field hearing<\/a> in Las Vegas that examined ways to attract large sporting and entertainment events to the U.S., with a focus on Las Vegas\u2019 experience, and the impacts that sporting and live entertainment events have on the local economy. Last year, Senator Rosen passed the bipartisan Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act<\/em><\/a> to boost the travel and tourism industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below are Senator Rosen\u2019s opening remarks as delivered:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion. Today\u2019s hearing titled, \u201cSustainability for a Thriving Tourism Economy,\u201d will examine how to build a sustainable travel and tourism sector that integrates protecting our natural resources, supporting the tourism economy, and ensuring responsible infrastructure development. Additionally, this hearing will focus on how to balance the needs of businesses, visitors, and local communities to support sustainable tourism, including businesses centered around outdoor recreation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outdoor recreation industry contributes $778 billion. I\u2019m going to repeat that \u2013 $778 billion \u2013 in economic output nationally and supports a whopping 5.2 million American jobs. That\u2019s amazing. And it\u2019s from guides and outfitters to manufacturers, small business owners, and so much more.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outdoor recreation is a major contributor to Nevada\u2019s economy. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation in Nevada generates over $5.5 billion in economic output annually and is directly responsible for 60,000 jobs, nearly 60,000 jobs. And, Nevada\u2019s natural wonders \u2013 every state has them, I know \u2013 but Nevada\u2019s natural wonders bring people from across the country and around the world to see our mountains, our deserts, our lakes, and our wildlife. Over 80% of our state is managed by the federal government. These public lands and waters and our twenty-four state parks offer diverse opportunities for residents and visitors to enjoy the outdoors, including hiking, camping, boating, hunting, skiing, stargazing, or attending outdoor cultural events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Southern Nevada, we have many beautiful places and recreation opportunities just minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip \u2013 from Red Rock National Conservation Area to the Valley of Fire and, of course, Lake Mead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevada is also proud of our national monuments, from Tule Springs and its prehistoric fossils to Avi Kwa Ame, which was just designated a national monument earlier this year after a push that Senator Cortez Masto and I led. Two of our national monuments \u2013 Gold Butte and Basin and Range \u2013 are in remote and rugged areas. They\u2019re full of petroglyphs that people from all over the country and around the world come to see. Our monuments are therefore critical for both preserving tribal culture and public lands and for supporting our outdoor tourism economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing outdoor recreation opportunities in and near Nevada\u2019s rural communities is an important way to increase tourism spending and support local businesses. Places like Jarbidge Wilderness Area or the Ruby Mountains in Elko County attract outdoor enthusiasts and backcountry hikers and hunters. In Lander County, the Battle Mountain Human Powered Vehicle Speed Challenge is a fixture of the tourism season in Battle Mountain. Black Rock Desert in western Nevada, well, it\u2019s home to Burning Man, but also offers opportunities year-round, including rock climbing and land speed racing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

White Pine County in eastern Nevada is also a hub for outdoor recreation and tourism, with Great Basin National Park featuring ancient bristlecone pines, the Lehman Caves, and unparalleled views of the night sky, some of the darkest skies in the country right in Nevada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the Great Basin Star Train \u2013 which I was thrilled to ride a couple of years ago \u2013 transports visitors from Ely to the park, bringing in dollars to the local community. From \u201cPark to Park After Dark,\u201d the initiative is building on this success and encouraging astro-tourism along Highway 6 from Death Valley National Park to Great Basin National Park.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, then we have Lake Tahoe, one of the world\u2019s most beautiful and clearest bodies of water, attracting 15 million visitors each year for its various outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing, water sports, biking, camping, and hiking. Through this, Tahoe anchors a $5.1 billion economy and supports hundreds and hundreds of jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a local population of about 54,000 in the Basin and another 17,000 in Truckee, protecting the quality of the Tahoe experience while advancing the needs of the region\u2019s communities and its visitor and recreation-based economy is a tremendous challenge. Today, I look forward to hearing about the essential and successful and collaborative work of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to balance tourism and conservation interests in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as the Tahoe region faces mounting challenges and impacts from tourism and recreation \u2013 its primary economic engine \u2013 its stakeholders and community members have come together to establish a shared vision for Tahoe\u2019s future and commit to finding solutions. And I\u2019m looking forward to all of us learning more about all of our witnesses today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, our witnesses, they come from various fields, and they are experts in their fields. And we have representation from: <\/p>\n\n\n\n