U.S. Travel Association is urging Congress to implement short-term priorities to stimulate leisure and hospitality sector as 61 percent or nearly two-thirds, of all jobs still lost due to the pandemic are in this segment.

The revised job data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the past several months confirmed that 10 percent of leisure and hospitality jobs now remain lost.

“While the overall jobs report may be good news for some, the revised BLS data now confirms an even bigger revelation,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy, in a statement. “The uneven recovery of the travel sector is due in large part to the lack of inbound international travelers, and the deep reduction in business travel and professional meetings and events. There could not be a more pressing time to support this vital contributor to the U.S. economy and rebuild American jobs.”

Measures before Congress to aid the recovery of the travel industry include:

A higher cap on H-2B visas, to ease the absence of labor for the over one million job openings in the leisure and hospitality industry.

Emergency support for Brand USA through passage of the Restoring Brand USA Act.

Targeted, temporary tax credits and deductions to stimulate spending on business travel, live entertainment and in-person events.