Twenty-five years ago, the 98th Congress officially recognized the importance of travel and tourism by designating a week in May to celebrate travel’s contributions to the heritage and economic health of the United States. Over the succeeding 25 years, the travel industry has grown into one of the most important sectors of our national economy, now employing 7.7 million Americans. So today, we echo that spirit by designating May 9th to 17th, 2009 as “National Travel and Tourism Week”.

Business and leisure travel are vital to our economic prosperity, educational outreach, cultural understanding and public diplomacy. The travel industry is our nation’s fifth largest employer. Last year, travel to and within the United States generated an estimated $740 billion in direct expenditures and $115 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues.