TheU.S. Travel Association is launching a national grassrootscampaign to urge Congress to implement a trusted traveler program.

The "Be Trusted" campaign will includeadvertisements in newspapers and airports, social media, events at airports, an advocacy website, a toll-free number to connect travelers directly with members of Congress, and an online petition.

Last December, apoll conducted by the association revealed that three-quarters of air travelers believed that there were better ways to conduct air travel screening. Eight in ten supported the idea of a trusted traveler program to provide alternate screening measures for American citizens who had successfully passed a background check and other possible criteria. A majority of those surveyed wanted Congress to make this a top priority during the current legislative session.

That survey also led the association to conclude that if the hassels and difficulities air traveler's routinely face today were lessened without compromising security, that resulting additional trips by comsumers would result as much as $84 billion in increased revenues.

Tom Ridge, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and co-chair of the U.S. Travel Association's Blue Ribbon Panel on Aviation Security, said in a report by the panel, "We've been talking for years about establishing a screening system that takes risk into account. Creating a trusted traveler program is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to control the cost of aviation security." (The entire report can be downloadedhere.)

(To read more about the report, see "Travel Group Says Enough of 'One-Size-Fits-All' Airport Security Model")

♦ Screenshot of "Be Trusted" Web site