Grand Canyon Times

WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema met with the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association (AzLTA) to address ongoing labor shortages impacting the travel and tourism industries in Arizona and across the country. AzLTA thanked Sinema for introducing and supporting legislation that would relieve workforce challenges and fuel economic opportunities for hardworking Arizonans and businesses.

“As travel and tourism industries across the nation struggle to recruit and retain workers, we’re laser-focused on identifying solutions that address labor shortages and grow a healthy Arizona economy for all,” said Sinema.

In the meeting, Sinema spoke about how the significant labor shortage is impacting the travel and tourism industries, and expressed support for the H-2B visa programs that would help ease these challenges. Last year, Sinema called on the Administration to release an additional 35,000 H-2B visas for the second half of fiscal year 2022 and more than 64,000 additional visas for fiscal year 2023. This action allowed Arizona employers who depend on seasonal workers to have necessary staffing levels for their peak seasons.

The AzLTA thanked Sinema for introducing the Asylum Seeker Work Reauthorization Act with Republican Senator Susan Collins (Maine) – legislation streamlining employment authorization for asylum seekers who enter the United States at a port of entry – as a commonsense solution that would help ease ongoing labor challenges.

The Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association (AzLTA) is the leading statewide public policy organization advocating for Arizona’s travel, lodging, arts and sports industry. Founded in 1938, the association represents statewide hotels and resorts, tourism attractions, destination marketing organizations, sports teams, airlines, airports, and related business partners. The Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association is concerned about the workforce challenges affecting their industries in Arizona. 

Original source can be found here.