National Travel and Tourism Week 2010

In honor of National Travel and Tourism Week (May 8-16^th), we would like to say thank you to all the tourists and travelers out there who help support the industry year after year! National Travel and Tourism Week has been celebrated in the U.S. since 1984, when U.S. Congress designated the first week in May as the national holiday. Since then, the U.S. travel community has come together to celebrate the holiday through local rallies and events to raise awareness of the industry’s significance and impact on Americans nationwide.

As part of this year’s celebrations, the U.S. Travel Association is pairing up with local travel communities across the nation to put on the U.S. Travel Rally Day on Tuesday, May 11^th. The U.S. Travel Rally Day is designed to demonstrate travel’s impact on local workers, businesses and economies.

How exactly does travel and tourism contribute to local American communities? Thanks to the U.S. Travel Association, below are a few impressive facts on the importance of travel and tourism:

Travel and tourism is one of America’s largest industries.

In fact, the travel and tourism industry is one of the largest contributors of tax revenue for local, state and federal governments bringing in an average of $111 billion each year.

A recent study shows that American households would pay $950 more in taxes without the tax revenue generated by the travel and tourism industry.

The travel and tourism industry is one of America’s largest employers.

There are 7.4 million direct travel-generated jobs in the U.S., which has a total payroll of more than $186 billion.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, 1 out of every 9 American jobs is dependent on travel and tourism.

For more fun facts on the travel and tourism industry and information on how you can participate in National Travel and Tourism Week, visit www.ustravel.org.

Also, check out a few photos from our National Travel and Tourism Week celebrations on Flickr.