E-mail Chain Celebrates U.S. Tourism

To celebrate See America Week, formally known as National Tourism Week, May 13–21, the travel industry has created a dynamic e-mail campaign for industry insiders to share fast facts and information with policymakers, media and other contacts in their communities. Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association of America, which is spearheading the information initiative, says, "This e-mail campaign is designed to be an easy way for our industry to convey the impact of the industry to our friends in government, the media and our communities." The campaign calls for each of more than 40 travel and tourism-related associations, as well as states and destinations, to send an informational e-mail to their members, asking those people to forward the e-mail to 50 personal contacts who may find the information useful or eye-opening. The e-mail will include a graphic depiction of how travel and tourism dollars are spent in America. Among the more notable facts: Travel and tourism generates $1.3 trillion in economic activity in the U.S. every year. Some 7.3 million jobs are directly related to travel and tourism in the U.S. Nearly 50 million international visitors spent $105 billion traveling in the U.S. last year. Each association and individual will be able add their own interesting facts about travel and tourism to localize the information for their audience. "If everyone participates, we will reach tens of millions of people with information about the important role travel and tourism plays in our communities and across America," Dow said.