The U.S. Travel Service was created by the United States Secretary of Commerce on July 1, 1961 pursuant to the International Travel Act of 1961 (75 Stat. 129; 22 U.S.C. 2121 note) after President John F. Kennedy signed Senate Bill 610 on June 29, 1961. It was created to address a deficit in tourism in the United States.
In 1981, it was replaced by the creation of the United States Travel and Tourism Administration.