Natl Travel and Tourism Week
In 1984 President Reagan signed the proclamation for an annual celebration of travel and tourism creating National Tourism Week. As Tuolumne County’s largest private industry, tourism and travel have a major impact on our employment (directly and indirectly) as well as our economy as a whole.
The event, nationally is organized by the US Travel & Tourism Association (www.ustravel.org) using private funding only. What does investment in tourism mean for people in our community?
According to research conducted on behalf of the US Travel Association (USTA), tourism generated $759 billion in direct spending by domestic and international visitors across the nation plus approximately $1 trillion in other industries who’s customers include tourism providers. That’s one of the reasons your local Visitors Bureau has a number of members who are not directly involved in the tourism industry, however many of their customers are.
Nationally tourism generated approximately $118 billion in tax revenue to Federal, state and local agencies throughout the nation last year.
With all the negative economic news as of late, here’s another powerful number: Last year tourism generated an estimated $32 billion balance of trade surplus for the US! That is, visitors to the US spent more money here than Americans traveling outside the US.
Travel and tourism nationally support 14 million jobs either directly or indirectly which means roughly one out of every 9 Americans works in this field.
Here in Tuolumne County, tourism employs over 2400 people (excluding Black Oak Casino which is not included in county statistics) and provides an enormous impact on our community.
The net result for residents is a vibrant economy, a wide range of activities and events from live theater to outdoor recreation opportunities that would not exist without visitors. There just aren’t enough residents to support the activities, the restaurants, the entertainment and the many wonderful events we enjoy every year.
So welcome visitors when you see them and join us here in the Visitors Bureau in celebrating National Travel & tourism Week which just happens to coincide with the opening of our summer season.
