The National Restaurant Association celebrated a victory for the restaurant and hospitality industries as President Obama signed the first-ever Travel Promotion Act into law during a signing ceremony at the White House. The legislation provides resources to promote international travel to the U.S.

“This is a significant achievement for the restaurant and hospitality industries,” says Scott DeFife, executive vice president for policy and government affairs for the association. “Restaurateurs depend on travelers, with some segments of the industry attributing as much as 40 percent of annual sales to visitors. The Travel Promotion act will encourage more international travel and is expected to boost restaurant industry sales, which will spur job growth and help grow the economy.”

The Travel Promotion Act creates a public-private partnership campaign to aggressively market the U.S. as a premier travel destination overseas, with the goal of increasing the number of international visitors into the country. The National Restaurant Association has long supported legislation to help attract more international visitors and establish the U.S. as a travel destination. Roughly half of all travelers report that they dine out when they travel, and dining out is the most popular activity planned after tourists arrive at a destination.