Saturday, Nov. 01, 2008

Chamber gets moving after election

On 9 a.m. Wednesday, the morning after the election, a group will huddle in the board room of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, concocting the strategies on how to further the business community's agenda.

OK, maybe they won't be huddling or concocting. But some of the biggest projects on the local tourism industry's wish list lie in the hands of the newly elected - or re-elected - politicians, and the chamber's Legislative Policy Council will meet potentially hours after they are confirmed winners.

"That was not planned that way," council Chairman Franklin Daniels said with a chuckle. "But, hey, no time like the present. We gotta get moving on it. Figure out who's in the office and how we can work with them."

One of the largest issues on the chamber's agenda in 2009 now faces bigger hurdles than ever - funding for Interstate 73, a highway planned to connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach.

"We've got a real issue now that we weren't thinking of before," Daniels said of the $700 billion bailout, and the other billions loaned to companies that have stretched the federal government thin.

Perhaps they can take a page from the politicians and start spinning. The highway project shouldn't be seen as another pet project or earmark, Daniels said, because it is something that will benefit states across the country.

"It's not a road to nowhere," he said. "It's something that would truly open up our country."

Plus, Daniels said, the road would be an economic stimulus in itself, by providing jobs for people building the road and bringing business to the outlying communities.

The Travel Industry Association, a national lobbying and promotion group for the travel sector, has analyzed the candidates' stances on issues they say matter to the travel community:

Highways | Sen. John McCain voted against the highway funding bill in 2005. Sen. Barack Obama has not been specific with his funding plans for transportation, the TIA said.

Air travel | Both candidates have said the Federal Aviation Administration needs to reform the air travel system. McCain told a private gathering of travel leaders he would make the issue a top priority.

Visas for international visitors | McCain supports immigration reform; Obama supports allowing tourists from more countries to visit without a visa.

Promotion | McCain is "generally skeptical" on the government getting involved in travel promotion and has not signed on to support the Travel Promotion Act, a bill pushed by the TIA that would create a Cabinet-level position in the Department of Commerce responsible for promoting tourism; Obama is one of the many sponsors.