U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez Names AmericanTours International's CEO/Chair...

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez Names AmericanTours International's CEO/Chair Noel Irwin Hentschel to Serve 5th Term on U.S. Travel and Tourism Board with Ex-Officio Members Condoleezza Rice and Michael Chertoff

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez has named
AmericanTours International's CEO/Chair Noel Irwin Hentschel to serve
her 5th term on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Board. The new appointment
extends Hentschel's continuing tenure on the advisory board to Sept.
21, 2009.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Homeland
Security Michael Chertoff continue on the board as Ex-Officio members.

In her role as tourism advisor to the Commerce Dept., Hentschel
worked behind the scenes with Secretary Gutierrez in helping to secure
the Approved Destination Status (ADS) for the U.S. with China, signed
just last December.

The important bilateral agreement, designed to lift travel
restrictions for Chinese leisure tourists to the U.S., brought the
first 240 Chinese visitors to America last month. Similar travel
groups coming this year are expected to trigger an economic boom for
America as Chinese tourism dollars flood into U.S. cities. The new
pact, in Los Angeles alone, is projected to bring in at least 66,000
new Chinese travelers who will spend an average of $62 million there
in the next year.

Noel revealed that ATI has been in the China tourism market for
over three years, but the Asian country became her company's main
focus in 2006 as a result of her trade mission to Beijing with
Secretary Gutierrez that year.

"In a meeting I attended there between the Secretary and then Vice
Premier, Madam Wu Yi," Noel recalled, "the Secretary was asked to help
make it possible for more Chinese to travel to America and to help
reduce the existing trade deficit."

Noel said that the Secretary's answer to Madam Wu was that he
would and he did. "This major bilateral agreement," she stated, "is a
great example of a successful private/public initiative successfully
negotiated by the Secretary."

Secretary Gutierrez declared that Hentschel's knowledge and
experience are critical in providing advice and counsel on issues and
concerns that affect the U.S. travel and tourism industry.

"Noel will continue to be invaluable," he said, "in helping to
solve conflicts since the Board provides a forum for discussing and
proposing solutions to industry-related problems."

Expressing his thanks for Hentschel's willingness to devote time
and effort to the Board's important work, Gutierrez added that he
looked forward to continuing his work with the nationally known high
level tourism operator so that together they might help "strengthen
the U.S. travel and tourism industry."

The U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board is comprised of tourism
industry executives from across the United States. The selected
members represent a bi-partisan cross-section of the industry. The
Board's recent appointments also include Carlson Companies
Chairman/CEO Marilyn Carlson Nelson to the post of Chairman and Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey's Director of Aviation William
DeCota, who will serve as vice chair.

According to Secretary Gutierrez, U.S. and travel-related tourism
industries annually contribute more than $1.3 trillion to the U.S.
economy, helping to support more than 8.6 million American jobs. "Last
year, the United States set new records for total arrivals and
spending, welcoming 56 million international travelers who contributed
$122 billion to the U.S. economy," he said. "The Travel and Tourism
Board provides support for this valuable, global industry by advising
the Department of Commerce on key issues."

Hentschel's AmericanTours International is the largest privately
held, inbound/outbound tourism and marketing organization in the
United States. It serves one-million visitors annually from more than
70 countries around the world and is responsible for bringing $3
billion into the U.S. economy, annually. Based in Los Angeles adjacent
to LAX, the company has offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington
DC, Orlando, Honolulu, Maui and Beijing, China.

Hanson & Schwam PR
Mike Casey, 310-248-4476 (direct)
mcasey@hspr.net

Copyright Business Wire 2008