• Wall Street Journal, Thursday, March 5, 2009 10:45 AM

The U.S. Travel Association has launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign slamming Congress and the Obama administration for rhetoric that the industry says is dampening the market for business travel, Elizabeth Williamson reports. Travel executives say high-end business meetings and incentive trips create more than $100 billion in spending and one million jobs.

One of four print ads in the campaign includes a photograph of the back of President Barack Obama's head, superimposed over an empty stadium. "Until political conventions are held via conference call, we shouldn't expect business to do so either," the text reads. Lavish trips bankrolled by financial institutions that have taken federal money have drawn sharp criticism in Washington.

Geoff Freeman, the travel association's svp for public affairs, says the group also is soliciting 60-second video auditions from industry employees. "You've all heard of Joe the Plumber ... well, we're looking for Joe the Bellman," he says, to be the "face of the industry."

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