White House gives its blessing to trips

LAS VEGAS — The White House on Thursday encouraged Americans to travel, soothing words for the tourism industry that had complained for weeks that a remark from the president about corporate junkets had a chilling effect on business travel.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was not discouraging travel when he said last month businesses receiving federal bailout money should not be taking junkets.

"The president believes it’s important to have a strong tourism industry and that it’s important that, as the president said earlier … that we shouldn’t retrench,” Gibbs said. "He would encourage people to travel.”

Obama made the comment last month while promoting his stimulus bill at Indiana town hall meeting. Asked about corporate largesse and the federal bailout, the president said: "you can’t get corporate jets, you can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime.”

Nevada officials have said the remark has discouraged travel among all companies skittish about being perceived as wasteful. At least three large banks recently have canceled meetings at Las Vegas locations.

Tourism officials estimate cancellations have cost the region’s tourism-related businesses about $132 million since October.

Gibbs said Thursday that the president was referring to companies "that are getting large amounts of public funding.”