CONTACT:
Molly Belmont, Marketing Director
Discover Albany
Phone: 518-434-1217 x 203
Email: mbelmont@albany.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2018
Discover Albany celebrates National Travel and Tourism Week
Albany, NY — Discover Albany is leading the travel and tourism community during National Travel and Tourism Week (May 6-13), by highlighting who comes to our market.
“Every day, we are connecting with tourists, meeting planners, tour operators, and hospitality partners to put Albany in front of more prospective visitors. This year, as we celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week, our staff will head out on foot, on bike, and on plane to promote Albany, and learn more about what we can do to increase traveler spending in our area,” says Michele Vennard, President and CEO of Discover Albany. “According to the most recent economic impact numbers, thanks in part to our ongoing efforts, travelers spent $968 million in Albany County, generated $124 million in state and local taxes."
This week, Discover Albany is participating in the national celebration of what travel means to our community by creating new visitor experiences, training frontline staff, and meeting with local meeting planners.
National Travel and Tourism Week Events
May 4 – Launch of new “Historic Downtown Albany Food Tour,” a weekly walking tour of downtown Albany
May 7-11 Discover Albany attends Simpleview Summit in Scottsdale, one of the largest DMO conferences in the world
May 9 – Albany Visitor A2D Class and Reception at Ten Broeck Mansion
May 12-13 – Albany Tulip Festival
May 16 – Discover Albany Bike Blitz, with our sales team making calls to local meeting planners
“Discover Albany is continually finding new ways to reach visitors. As we celebrate the 35th year of National Travel and Tourism Week, we are mindful of how much has changed in travel over the last three decades. We continually strive to stay up on the latest trends, and continue to grow our destination,” says Vennard.
Some of the local numbers:
- 15,400 jobs are supported by travel and tourism in Albany County.
- Travel and tourism generates $124M in state and local taxes.
These local figures are an important part of travel’s economic importance nationwide. To wit:
- Travel is a $2.4 trillion industry in the U.S.
- These visitors support 15.6 million American jobs—roughly 8.8 million direct travel jobs, and 6.8 million indirect and induced jobs.
- Travel-related spending generated $75.6 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues in 2017.
ABOUT Discover Albany
The Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. was established in 1976 to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community through increased development of conventions and tourism. Today, the organization is known as Discover Albany. Discover Albany currently represents more than 300 member businesses and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings. Discover Albany also operates the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, Henry Hudson Planetarium, and the Albany International Airport Information Center. The Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau Foundation was established in 1993 to provide educational opportunities and work with other organizations to secure grants and funding to advance regional travel and tourism projects. For more information, call 518-434-1217 or 800-258-3582 or visit www.albany.org.
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