Notice2023-11805
National Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Strategic Plan; Request for Comment
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 2, 2023
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking public input to aid it in updating DOT's National Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Strategic Plan (NTTISP). DOT will consider input and the comments received in the development of the NTTISP.
Full Text
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 106 (Friday, June 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36361-36362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11805]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[DOT-OST-2023-0080]
National Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Strategic Plan;
Request for Comment
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Notice; request for comment (RFC).
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking public input
to aid it in updating DOT's National Travel and Tourism Infrastructure
Strategic Plan (NTTISP). DOT will consider input and the comments
received in the development of the NTTISP.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 17, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submissions in response to this notice may be sent by either
of the following two methods, although DOT prefers the first:
<bullet> Electronic comments may be sent to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#204e545449535060444f540e474f56"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="610f151508121121050e154f060e17">[email protected]</span></a>.
Submissions should be machine-readable and not be copy-protected.
<bullet> Written comments may be sent to: The Office of
International Transportation and Trade, ATTN: Nicole Bambas, NTTISP, RM
W88-303, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
Any submissions received after the deadline may not be accepted or
considered.
<bullet> Confidential Business Information (CBI): CBI is commercial
or financial information that is customarily and actually treated as
private by its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5
U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments in
response to this RFC contain commercial or financial information that
is customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private,
and that is relevant or responsive to this RFC, it is important that
you clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each
page of your submission containing CBI as ``PROPIN'' to indicate that
it contains proprietary information. DOT will treat such marked
submissions as confidential under FOIA and not place them in the public
docket of this RFC. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to the
name and physical or email address listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Bambas at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fa948e8e93898aba9e958ed49d958c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="305e444459434070545f441e575f46">[email protected]</span></a> or
202-366-4398. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 2021, DOT released its National
Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Strategic Plan for FY 2020-2024
(NTTISP 2020-2024), which can be found here: <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/NTTISP">https://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/NTTISP</a>. DOT developed the
NTTISP in response to the mandate in the 2015 Fixing America's Surface
Transportation Act (FAST ACT) that it assess the condition and
performance of our national transportation network, identify issues
that create congestion and barriers to travel and tourism, and develop
strategies for improving vital travel infrastructure. While DOT was
developing the NTTISP, the world began to experience the impact of the
public health emergency created by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-
19) pandemic.
Given the consequences of COVID-19 to the travel and tourism
industry, Congress has mandated that DOT revisit the NTTISP. In
November 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58, implemented as the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law or BIL). Section 25018 of the BIL directs DOT to update the NTTISP
and include new matters such as immediate and long-term strategies,
policy recommendations and infrastructure investments across all modes
of transportation to revive the travel and tourism industry and the
overall travel and tourism economy in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic. The NTTISP must also identify possible infrastructure
investments that create recovery opportunities for small, underserved,
minority, and rural businesses in the travel and tourism industry,
including efforts to preserve and protect scenic, but often less-
traveled, roads that promote tourism
[[Page 36362]]
and economic development throughout the United States.
DOT's updated NTTISP will be complementary to the whole-of-
government efforts of the Tourism Policy Council (TPC), led by the
Department of Commerce, and its National Tourism Strategy, focusing on
challenges and solutions over the immediate and longer term while also
addressing DOT's strategic goals of safety, economic strength, climate
resilience, equity, and organizational excellence in the transportation
sector. DOT is a member of the TPC, which was established by Congress
to ensure that the United States' national interest in travel and
tourism is fully considered in Federal decision making.
DOT seeks public input to aid it in updating the NTTISP. More
specifically, it seeks input from the public, including State
Departments of Transportation, public and private transportation
stakeholders, academia, government, business, and industry groups of
all sizes; entities directly performing travel and tourism research and
development; and entities directly affected by such research and
development.
Persons responding to this RFC are asked to include responses to
the following questions in their comments:
1. How can transportation infrastructure better facilitate long-
distance travel and tourism?
a. For this report, we anticipate long-distance travel and tourism
trips to be defined as any trip greater than 50 miles using any mode of
transportation or combination of modes of transportation. Is there a
better definition for long-distance travel and tourism? Please explain.
b. What are the biggest opportunities for transportation
infrastructure to support long-distance travel and tourism? Discuss any
best practices.
c. What issues relating to the national transportation network
create significant congestion problems and barriers to long-distance
passenger travel and tourism?
d. What are best practices related to improving the performance of
the national transportation network for long-distance travel and
tourism?
e. What strategies should be considered to improve intermodal
connectivity for long-distance travel and tourism?
f. Where and what are the most regionally and nationally
significant transportation facilities and corridors for current and
forecasted long-distance travel and tourism? Describe these facilities
and corridors and explain how they were identified and why they are
critical to our nation's long-distance travel and tourism by providing
any applicable research or data.
g. What are some of the emerging challenges to long-distance travel
and tourism and what actions should the Department and other agencies
consider in order to anticipate and mitigate their effects?
2. What statutory, regulatory, technological, institutional,
financial, and other barriers should be considered to improve long
distance travel and tourism?
3. What policy recommendations should DOT and other agencies
consider for using infrastructure investments across all modes of
transportation to address the challenges of the travel and tourism
industry and the overall travel and tourism economy in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic?
4. What data sources should DOT consider as it updates the NTTISP?
a. DOT recognizes the challenge of gathering information on trip
purpose and long-distance travel. What sources of data and information
exist that include trip purpose and long-distance travel?
b. What sources of demographic data and information on origins and
destinations of long-distance travelers should DOT consider?
c. What data sources should DOT consider related to the impacts of
COVID-19 on long-distance travel and tourism?
5. How can transportation infrastructure policymakers support
small, underserved, minority, and rural businesses in the travel and
tourism industry?
6. How can policymakers support travelers from underserved
communities and improve transportation accessibility?
7. How can policymakers support travel that is sustainable and
reduces greenhouse gas emissions?
8. What metrics can help identify scenic, but often less-traveled
roads, cruises, and rail corridors that promote tourism and economic
development throughout the United States?
9. How should DOT reflect new and future innovations in travel in
the NTTISP?
Issued on May 30, 2023.
Julie Abraham,
Director, Office of International Transportation and Trade, U.S.
Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2023-11805 Filed 6-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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