Brad Dean, president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce testified before a Senate subcommittee on May 8. Below is an abridged version of his testimony.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a small town of approximately 30,000 permanent residents. Several small communities are tied economically to the City of Myrtle Beach but the entire population of our region is still very small by most standards. Despite our small permanent population, the Myrtle Beach area is a major tourism mecca, welcoming more than 15 million visitors each year. As you might expect, tourism is our number one industry, and it fuels other local industries like real estate, construction and retail.

Visitors come to Myrtle Beach to enjoy the 60 miles of beautiful, pristine beaches, 100-plus championship golf courses, and a wide array of amusements, attractions, dining, shopping and entertainment options. While the activities and amenities are a draw, the Myrtle Beach area has been fortunate to enjoy a high repeat visitation rate, due in large part to the extraordinary southern hospitality our visitors enjoy during each visit. The tourism industry in Myrtle Beach generates an annual economic impact of nearly $7 billion and sustains more than 73,000 jobs.

Prior to the creation of Brand USA, our nation was far from competitive in international travel. There was no ‘come visit America’ message. Today, through partnerships with Brand USA, I am able to collaboratively promote our brand, along with my peers in Charleston and Hilton Head, in numerous countries both in Europe and the Far East. Because of Brand USA, our promotional investments generate a much higher return-on-investment and we can now leverage our brands in more markets.

Since our partnership with Brand USA began, we have seen double-digit growth in international travel to the Myrtle Beach area. In fact, the growth in international travel to my community has risen at nearly three times the rate of domestic travel.

When it comes to Brand USA I have two words for Congress: Thank You. And, if you’ll permit me, I have two more words to offer: please reauthorize. This program, which does not cost U.S. taxpayers a dime, is helping to grow tourism and create jobs, not only in Myrtle Beach, but throughout South Carolina and the other forty-nine states.

In addition, if we intend to market America as the premier place for world travelers to vacation, we need to make sure they are greeted with a world-class transportation system. Congress must find an adequate source of funding for the highway trust fund which is currently projected to run out in late August. Congress and the Administration should enact a long-term reauthorization of MAP-21 which will expire on October 1st.

Finally, in this era of increasing regulation, some measures exceed sensible reform and, occasionally, exceed Congressional intent, as well. Small businesses are caught in the cross-hairs and can easily become the victim of unintended consequences. We’ve seen this in Myrtle Beach and I suspect we are not alone. Congress, when devising new laws, and the administration when implementing them should apply the same, basic principle that well-managed businesses and households apply: think before you act, and weigh the costs as well as the intended benefits.

We can, and I believe we will, reach the objective of 100 million international visitors annually. But doing so requires reauthorization of Brand USA, improvements to our transportation infrastructure, and a sensible approach to government regulation.