LoginA national lobbying effort is underway to convince the U.S. State Department to lift travel restrictions for visitors from certain countries and help boost stateside jobs creation in the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Vail Resorts in Colorado is part of the Discover America Partnership's move to get the federal agency to examine ways to ease rules, which the organization said could be a huge economic boon to the U.S.
Amy Kemp, a Vail Resorts spokeswoman, told the Summit County Voice lifting restrictions would help tourists from countries like Brazil and China obtain visas quicker.
"It’s critical not just for our employees and our resorts but also for our communities to sustain and create tourism jobs through efforts to promote international visitation," Kemp told the news agency.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, easing visa restrictions could create as many as 1.3 million jobs by 2020.
Meanwhile, it appears as if more Americans are finding temporary seasonal jobs at Utah's ski resorts. KSTU reports the area's recreation and hospitality industries have seen an increase in domestic workers this year.
A number of ski resorts said they did not have to look for H-2B temporary non-immigrant workers because of the large pool of U.S. applicants.