WATCH: Roger Dow's State of the Travel Industry

by Rich Thomaselli
Last updated: 1:57 PM ET, Tue February 10, 2015

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow delivered what is intended to be the first of an annual State of the Travel Industry address in a video message to travel and tourism leaders.

"Travel continues to be an economic powerhouse," Dow said. "The dynamism of our industry was on full display last year, setting records across the board."

Dow referred to 2.1 billion domestic trips; 74 million international visitors; $927 billion in travel expenditures; and 8 million workers directly employed in travel jobs. He lauded the industry's above-average growth rate, emphasized the need to enact travel-friendly policies to keep travel thriving and underscored U.S. Travel's ongoing commitment to monitor conditions and trends.

Some highlights of his speech:

POLICY ISSUES: "Top agenda items include protecting and advancing the Visa Waiver Program; improving travel facilitation, such as the entry process; and modernizing America's travel infrastructure and airports."

VISA WAIVER PROGRAM: "The U.S. Visa Waiver Program strengthens our homeland security, as affirmed by leading security experts through high levels of intelligence sharing among participating nations."

INFRASTRUCTURE: "Modernizing America's travel infrastructure, including airports and the air travel system, is central to our nation's long-term success...This starts with Congress reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Surface Transportation programs this year."

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND TRENDS: "The travel industry does not operate in a vacuum, and we are paying close attention to developments that could impact travel."

GAS PRICES: "Gasoline prices...have fallen to the lowest level since May 2009. Persistent low prices are good for travel, as people are more likely to hit the road for trips and will have greater purchasing power for other goods and services."

STRENGTH OF THE DOLLAR: "Since mid-last year, the strength of the dollar has increased by about 7 percent. This is good news for Americans, but what does it mean for inbound international travel? It would take some time for a sustained change to the dollar to have an affect here...[T]he cost of consumer goods here in the U.S. remains lower compared to many other major economies around the world."

Watch the rest of Dow's speech here: