For immediate release
Contact: Tosha Daugherty, Visit Morgan County
info@visitmorgancountyin.com or 765-346-5611
May 6-12 is National Travel & Tourism Week
Morgan County set to celebrate local tourism industry.
Martinsville, Ind. – National Travel and Tourism Week is scheduled for May 6-12, 2018. This annual week-long celebration was first observed in 1983 when it was created by a Congressional resolution. The event serves to champion the power of the travel and tourism industry both nationally and locally, helping to promote the impactful economic contributions of the industry. This year’s nationwide theme is “Travel Then and Now.”
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This is a particularly poignant theme for Morgan County with so much redevelopment taking place in downtown Martinsville. Watching our historic downtown come back to life with new businesses is generating excitement among local and visitors. This National Travel and Tourism Week, we appreciate the opportunity to both reflect on the area’s past heritage as a destination and also look forward to growing our tourism industry into the future.
Nationally, tourism is one of the largest industries in the U.S., generating more than $2 trillion each year and supporting over 15 million jobs. One in every nine American jobs is tourism-related. Tourism is also an important part of the economy in Indiana, where 77 million visitors spend more than $11 billion each year. The tenth largest industry in the state, tourism accounts for more than 150,000 jobs across Indiana, many of them in small businesses. In fact, if travelers stopped visiting Indiana, each household in the state would have to pay nearly $550 in additional taxes to make up the difference in state and local tax revenues.
Here in Morgan County, visitors spend about $25 million each year and support more than 450 local jobs. Of every dollar spent in Morgan County by visitors, 70 cents stays in the local economy. That’s new money added to our local economy that wasn’t here before, helping to grow our local businesses with minimal impact on local infrastructure and services. (Additional local tourism statistics available in our most recent report on the economic impact of visitors.)
Visit Morgan County invites all area residents to Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard, by getting out to explore the attractions and experiences available right here in Morgan County. Residents can have fun, enjoy many of the benefits of traveling, and become better ambassadors for their community all at the same time. Local “tourists” are invited to explore visitmorgancountyin.com for upcoming event information and other great ideas for things to do right here in Morgan County.
Residents are encouraged to stop by the Visitors Center, located inside The Main Connection at 460 S. Main Street in Martinsville, during business hours. A recently published Morgan County Visitors Guide is now available, and they’ll also find additional information on local things to do as well as information about attractions and upcoming events across the state. A few lucky locals will be randomly chosen throughout the week to receive a FREE drink from Maggie’s at the Main during National Tourism Week, courtesy of Visit Morgan County. The coffee bar is located inside The Main Connection, along with the Visitors Center and the Martinsville Chamber of Commerce, offering visitors a convenient place for refreshments as they learn more about the area. For residents unable to stop by the Visitors Center during the week, the building and coffee bar will be open on Saturdays this summer during the Morgan County Farmers Market.
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Visit Morgan County promotes all of Morgan County as a travel destination in order to
grow the economic impact of the tourism industry and support local business.
