The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth are fresh off of a whirlwind tour of Southeast Asia that had a simple goal: bring business back to North Texas.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price traveled to Japan, China and Taiwan for four days early this month along with representatives from each city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau and members of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport board.
This is the fifth trip of this nature for Rawlings and Price.
“We live in a very global world, and you have to sell the product you have. And the product we have is the City of Fort Worth and the City of Dallas,” Price said.
The relationships that are developed during these international trips have proven to be successful, according to both mayors.
For example, more than 160 Japanese-owned businesses have a headquarters or a presence in Dallas-Fort Worth, 20 more than at the beginning of 2016.
“Momentum creates more momentum,” Rawlings said. “It’s a great story. People did not realize so many Japanese businesses were moving. So they’re saying, ‘I want to be on that.’”
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According to Price, there was one name consistently on the lips of the foreign dignitaries with whom they met: Donald Trump.
“We were able to explain to them that this was an odd election and that President-elect Trump will be a good President,” Price said. “There were lots of questions about TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and where will it go. And we just had to honestly say, ‘We don’t know, but we do know you’ll still have the ability to trade with us and do business with us.’”
