CVB celebrates Travel & Tourism Week

VW independent/submitted information

National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW), now in its 35th year, is the annual salute to travel in America and has given the Van Wert Area Convention and Visitors Bureau a reason to celebrate. This year the tourism industry is coming together to recognize the many contributions of travel and tourism over the last several decades.

The travel industry is America’s seventh-largest employer — supporting 15.6 million jobs. Of those, 427,000 Ohio jobs are found in tourism and, in Van Wert County, 1 in every 17 jobs has a tourism connection. Travel generates $2.4 trillion for the U.S. economy and tax revenue from travel spending for federal, state, and local governments totaled $164.8 billion in 2017.

Here in Ohio, visitors spent $43 billion in 2016. The most recent economic impact study conducted for Van Wert County showed visitors generated $39 million in business activity and $1.2 million in local taxes. Tourism is not just big fun, it is big business.

On May 9, TourismOhio will celebrate Tourism Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the west plaza of the Ohio Statehouse. This free event for the whole family will introduce people to exciting destinations from the Hocking Hills to the shores of Lake Erie — and everything in between. Enjoy great live entertainment, costumed characters, free giveaways, virtual reality, food trucks, and more.

Stop by the office of the Van Wert Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, at 136 E. Main Street, and pick up free information on the many local summer events, a statewide listing of events, and information from Convention and Visitors Bureaus located across the state.