[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 106 (Friday, June 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36361-36362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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:
     Electronic comments may be sent to [email protected]. 
Submissions should be machine-readable and not be copy-protected.
     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.
     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 [email protected] 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: https://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/NTTISP. 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]
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