AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Travel Alliance is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to recognize the importance of travel and look ahead to what reopening Texas means for the industry.
"Many of our cities are having to make very tough choices to start laying off employees, furloughing employees," said Erika Boyd, the VP of government relations and communications for the Texas Travel Alliance. "We are watching other industries slowly start to open and do so in a safe way both for their employees and for their customers, and we would like the governor to recognize that we could do that too."
In a press release, the alliance said that travel spending in Texas resulted in $740 less in taxes for households in the Lone Star State in 2018. That same year, the alliance cited data from the governor's Economic Development & Tourism Division that said $80.3 billion in direct travel spending was recorded in Texas, resulting in $4.5 billion in state taxes and $3.0 billion in local taxes.
"Many local economies have suffered significant financial losses and are now facing massive budgetary shortfalls due to the lack of tax revenues generated by travel and tourism, which they rely on to fund their budgets," the release reads.
You can read the alliance's full letter to the governor here.
MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:
- Rising meat prices putting the heat on barbecue restaurants
- Family of Austin nursing assistant sues facility, operators
- St. Edward's University reportedly announces layoffs amid coronavirus pandemic
- LIST: Confirmed Central Texas coronavirus cases by county
- Rural Texas hospitals struggle to stay open amid COVID-19 pandemic
- Williamson County, Family Emergency Room to allow testing for those who do not show COVID-19 symptoms
- Texas Conference for Women goes virtual in 2020
- COVID-19 testing rates in Central Texas are lower than the state average