October 25, 2001
Dear Colleagues:

We all know that the tragic attacks of September 11 have had a serious
impact the American sense of freedom to travel and see our great nation and
its many cultural attractions, including museums.

As you know, AAM, through the national consortium, Partners in Tourism:
Culture and Commerce, has established a mutually supportive relationship
with Travel Industry Association of America (TIA).  I am honored to serve
on the TIA board of directors.

TIA has announced a major initiative to promote travel in the United
States.  On Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11, 2001, the initiative,
SeeAmerica Day, will call people to celebrate America and its treasures.
We would like to encourage you to participate in ways appropriate to your
museum and in keeping with your resources (please visit www.aam-us.org for
examples of how many museums are responding to the tragedy of September
11). You can learn more by visiting www.tia.org and by working with your
local convention and visitors bureau or state tourism office.

Speaking on behalf of AAM and the board of directors, there is a great deal
of pride in the way that museums have responded to September 11 and the
disruptions that have followed at the same time, the precipitous and
dramatic decline in travel and tourism has drastically affected museum
attendance, admissions income, shop sales, etc.  It is also in our best
interest to get America traveling again.

We know that by working with our communities and travel marketing
organizations that we can keep museums at the center of the efforts to heal
our nation and increase visitation to museums.


      Sincerely,
       Edward H. Able, Jr.
Cc:  Bill Norman, TIA
     Michael D. Gehrisch, IACVB

jdk/dev

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