“During the week of May 5 thru May 13 we will bring attention to every person in our community that depends on travelers for their jobs and livelihoods,” said J.P. Parsons, V.P. of Destination Marketing for Jackson County Tourism. “Travel and tourism is one of the most reliable generators of jobs at all levels of the American economy, including right here in Jackson County. We aim to show the powerful role of travel in this community.”

“Travel and tourism supports 14 million jobs across the nation, including many right here in Jackson County,” said J.P. Parsons. Travel and tourism is a $51.5 Million industry for Jackson County providing 576 jobs. Travel is a broad and diverse industry employing a vast workforce, from hotel employees to restaurant, attraction and retail workers. Travel and tourism further supports employees in other industry sectors, such as construction, manufacturing and finance. As a matter of fact, tourism is up higher than it’s ever been in Jackson County, and we are proud to show this year’s outstanding results:

“Travel is a force that can drive our nation’s economic recovery. It is one of the healthiest sectors of our economy in terms of job creation and hiring, employing one out of every nine Americans,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, the umbrella organization representing the U.S. travel industry. “During this election season, we are galvanizing support to ‘Vote Travel’ to showcase the power of our industry and its impact on our economy.”

Travel and tourism generated $1.8 trillion in economic output for the U.S. economy in 2010. The industry also represents one of America’s largest employers, supporting 14.1 million jobs (including 7.4 million directly in the travel industry and 6.7 million in other industries). Direct spending by domestic and international travelers averaged $2 billion a day, $86.6 million an hour, $1.4 million a minute and $24,000 a second.

“I’ve worked in the travel industry for close to 20 years, and I depend on visitors for my living,” said Steve Flynn, Owner of Stevarinos. “When people make the choice to travel to Scottsboro, it makes an enormous impact on the residents who live and work here. A vote for travel is a vote for me.”

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