The U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism is seeking industry leaders to fill three seats on its Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. The deadline to apply is Friday, October 8.

The board was established to advise the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and tourism industry. International travel spending in the U.S. was up 16 percent this past July over the previous year. It was the third straight month for year-over-year double-digit growth in international tourism spending and the seventh consecutive month that international spending has increased.

Current advisory board members include http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/TTAB/TTAB_Members.html Rossi Ralenkotter, president and chief executive officer, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Stephen Perry, president and CEO, New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau; and Hubert Joly, president and CEO, Carlson Cos., Minnetonka, Minn.

Applications can be submitted by e-mail to jennifer.pilat@trade.gov. More details on the requirements for the seats can be found at the http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/tinews/archive/tinews2010/20100929.html Office of Travel and Tourism Web site.