From Harford County government:
Congress first established National Travel and Tourism Week in 1983 as a designated period of time when the power of travel is celebrated around the country through localized events. In celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week, Harford County Executive, David R. Craig, will be hosting a Tourism Business Networking event at MacGregor’s Restaurant on May 12th from 4-6 pm.
“This is our chance to say thank you to the hundreds of small business owners in Harford County who are an integral part of the economic engine of tourism”, stated David R. Craig. “We are working together to grow this business for the benefit of all citizens in Harford County.” Over 95% of all tourism businesses are small entrepreneurial businesses.
Tourism Manager Wini Roche will also be speaking to groups and the media during the week to showcase our County’s main attractions and highlight the diversity of tourism within Harford County and Maryland. These events also demonstrate travel’s positive impact on local workers, businesses and economies and reinforce how critical the travel industry is to Maryland’s economy.
“We welcome local residents and visitors year round to enjoy all that our County has to offer, but Tourism Week brings additional focus to the economic impact of the tourism industry in Harford County”, stated Ms. Roche.
• 5,364 local citizens were employed within the Harford County’s tourism industry in 2009. (Source: Global Insights)
• Visitors spend over $300 million annually at Harford County’s local businesses. (Source: Global Insights)
• $8,786,770 in Visitor sales tax was collected in 2010*. (source: State Comptroller’s Office)
* Harford County does not have a room tax
Travelers can find more information on seasonal events on the tourism website at www.harfordmd.com.
In Maryland, the 2009 Annual Report from the Maryland Office of Tourism indicates that the State’s tourism industry is a significant revenue generator and supplier of jobs to the state’s workforce. In 2009, $13.7 billion in visitor spending resulted in nearly $1.6 billion in State and local taxes. There are more than 134,000 direct tourism jobs in core industries integral to tourism such as transportation, food service, accommodations, shopping and entertainment and recreation. The State plans to release the 2010 numbers during Tourism Week.
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