National Travel & Tourism Week 2019 Recap
National Travel & Tourism Week (NTTW) is the annual salute to travel in America. For the last 35 years, the first full week in May has been reserved in communities nationwide to showcase the impact of travel to policymakers, business leaders and local media. It has also been a week of celebrating and honoring the “Faces of Travel” by recognizing those in Sarasota County who keep this industry thriving.
VSC’s industry-nominated awards are given each year to those in our community who exhibit excellence in 5 categories, which are: Management, Front Line, Heart of the House, Volunteer and Rising Star. We also have one award, Voice of Sarasota, to recognize an individual or group of individuals who have helped raise awareness of the culture and character of our destination. This award is bestowed by our Board of Directors.
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The travel industry is an indispensable source of jobs locally and statewide and these jobs provide opportunities and paths to prosperity for many individuals and families. The men and women who are the faces of our local travel industry have helped shape travel to be one of Florida’s strongest industries.
Here in Sarasota County specifically, 1 in 5 employed residents work in the tourism and hospitality industry. That’s roughly 33,800 locals whose jobs rely on year-round visitation. As a collective group in 2018, this sector contributed $2.8 billion dollars to Sarasota County’s economy and served 2.6 million visitors!
But we know it’s not just about the dollars and cents, or the numbers. It’s about the people; 61% of children, when asked, say the best way to spend quality time with their parents is on vacation, 62% of adults say that their earliest, most vivid memories are of family vacations taken between the ages of 5 and 10, and 56% of travelers are happier with their health and well-being after going on vacation. When our community of tourism and hospitality professionals show up for work – they make a difference. They are helping children create lifetime memories, they are giving a family the bonding time they don’t get in their busy lives, and they are providing so many people with the opportunity to improve their mind, body and spirit.
That’s why for 15 years, VSC has honored our local Faces of Travel. Industry professionals from around the county come together to celebrate travel and all the dedicated, hardworking people who ultimately have a high impact on the local economy. We know that when visitors come to our destination, these are the men and women on the front of the line, and they are highly involved in promoting the area, and ensuring guests have an enjoyable experience. This is the reason we make NTTW about them and their achievements.
This year, VSC decided to take it one step further, and discuss WHY #TravelMatters to our local economy. Various partners and local dignitaries joined us to spread the message!
We also leveraged the opportunity to share with our industry that Sarasota is all our brand. To do this we created a video with information about how the community can use VSC’s assets to promote the Sarasota brand. For more information about Sarasota County’s Brand Toolkit, visit http://www.SarasotaCountyBrandToolkit.com
For more information about National Travel and Tourism Week please visit https://www.ustravel.org/toolkit/national-travel-and-tourism-week. For more information about VSC’s annual awards luncheon, please contact Kelly Defebo at [email protected] or 941-955-0991 Ext. 106. For more information about Sarasota County’s Brand Toolkit, visit http://www.SarasotaCountyBrandToolkit.com