Gathered from a variety of sources, here’s a collection of travel industry news, trends and miscellaneous news you might find useful.

Travel Industry Praises Reintroduction of JOLT Act

Earning wide praise from the travel community, Reps. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) have re-introduced the Jobs Originating through Launching Travel (JOLT) Act, a bipartisan effort to create jobs by implementing visa reforms that would increase international travel to the United States.

MPI Uncovers 'Significant Shifts' in the Meetings Industry

During the recession, meeting planners had to cope with limited resources and demanding stakeholder expectations. Now that the economy is improving, the lessons they learned are paying off, according to Meeting Professionals International (MPI), which yesterday released the results of its latest MPI Business Barometer predicting “significant shifts” for the meetings industry in 2013.

How The New Facebook Newsfeed Design Will Affect Your Restaurant or Small Business Page

While Facebook began as primarily a social network for college students, it has grown into a booming marketing hub for restaurant marketing and small businesses. New job titles such as “social media marketing expert” and “social media marketing ninja” have also surfaced. But what does all the social media hype really mean for your business? How will the latest redesign of this social networking giant really affect your restaurant or small business? Continually making design changes to its newsfeed and mobile app, Facebook has once again announced a major rollout of design changes that will change how both users and your small business will interact with others.

International Visitors Spend $14.4 Billion in January 2013, Up 11 Percent From January 2012

Spending by international visitors to the United States in January 2013 outpaced January 2012 levels by nearly 11 percent, according to data recently released by the International Trade Administration (ITA). International visitors spent an estimated $14.4 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States during the month.

Taming the Wild West of Mobile Optimization

Revenue managers often feel like pioneers in the Wild West when attempting to tame and optimize mobile. How do you sell and manage revenue via this medium? What should you be thinking about as you create your own mobile strategy? Don’t go wild yourself, and don’t overthink it, but do have a strategy.