U.S. Travel Association Applauds Senate Commerce Committee
U.S. Travel Association Applauds Senate Commerce Committee for Spotlight on Importance of National Parks to Tourism and the Economy
Following the Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on promoting national parks as travel destinations, Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, issued the following statement:
“Senators Klobuchar and LeMieux deserve our gratitude in highlighting the capacity of our national parks to promote greater appreciation for our amazing natural resources and support travel and tourism, which is so critical to our national economy. About 285 million Americans and international travelers visited national parks and other units of the National Park System (NPS) in 2009, a 3.9 percent increase that marked the fifth busiest year ever for the parks. The system supports more than 223,000 jobs and nearly $14 billion in economic activity across the country, according to NPS
“America’s national parks will be promoted to tour operators from more than 70 countries at next month’s International Pow Wow, the largest marketplace bringing international visitors to the United States. Promotion of the national parks supports President Obama’s Great Outdoors and National Export Initiatives.”
The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $704 billion travel industry. U.S. Travel’s mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. U.S. Travel is proud to be a partner in travel with American Express. For more information, visit www.ustravel.org.
