May 4-10 is National Travel & Tourism Week
Morgan County Residents encouraged
to participate in the power of travel.
It’s finally spring with lots of sunshine and flowers blooming, and that means it’s time to talk tourism. May 4-10 is National Travel & Tourism Week, organized by USA Travel. Why celebrate travel and tourism? Travel provides value to all our lives, both personally and as one of the nation's major economic engines.
The tourism sector of the US economy is big business. Generating more than a two trillion dollars in economic activity annually. That translates to 15 million American jobs. Experts say travel was one of the primary drivers of America’s post-pandemic economic recovery. This year’s National Travel and Tourism Week theme is the Powering the Economy, Building Opportunity & Connecting America, in recognition of the industry’s ongoing vital role in bringing back our vibrant communities, restoring our economy, rebuilding our workforce and reconnecting America.
Travel in the United States, both international and domestic, fuels growth in every single state in the nation, accounting for impacts in nearly every sector, from health care to education to agriculture, and supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship nationwide. Bringing the numbers in a bit closer to home, travel and tourism in Indiana welcomes 81.7 million visitors, who spend more than $16.2 billion in our statewide economy and supporting more than 208,500 Indiana jobs. In fact, tourism saves each Indiana household more than $583 in state and local taxes!
Morgan County’s not exempt from this – though our tourism industry is relatively small when compared to our neighbors in Indianapolis or Bloomington, it is significant to our local economy. Overall visitor spending in Morgan County totaled $33.9 million in 2023. That spending supports more than 365 local jobs and saves our local Morgan County households more than $123 each in taxes each year.
Travel and tourism also create major positive impacts in our personal lives. Travel, even if it's nearby, has a tremendous impact on mental well-being and also helps to reduce stress, clear your mind and boost happiness. The best part? These positive aspects of travel are available to you at zero cost. Not that it isn't great to travel to far-off places and stay at luxury resorts, but the fact is, the mental and physical benefits of travel are the same if you simply take a one hour road trip to visit a lake or forest!
To celebrate the power of travel this year, we invite you to explore Morgan County and the entire state as a visitor would! So, what do visitors do in our area? Most visitor spending in Morgan County is spent in local restaurants on food and beverage purchases, in local stores and boutiques on retail purchases, and on transportation costs such as filling up that gas tank! So, load up the family, and head out to explore Morgan County and beyond. If you need ideas on where to go and what to do, check out our website for things to do, restaurants to try and upcoming events to attend.
Stop in to the Morgan County Visitors Center, located inside the Main Connection at 460 South Main Street in Martinsville, during regular hours to pick up an Indiana Visitors Guide, Indiana Recreation Guide or Morgan County Visitors Guide, or ask for some personal recommendations based on your family's interests, and you’ll also receive a free gift from Visit Morgan County during National Travel & Tourism Week! Regular hours are 9 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. Visitor information is also accessible during the Morgan County Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm.
As always, Visit Morgan County encourages residents to be a “tourist” in their own hometown whenever they can. Travel and tourism benefits everyone’s quality of life and general well-being no matter how far (or how close) the destination. Be sure to follow the Visit Morgan County, Indiana page on Facebook for regular updates on fun things to do and check their website for additional information on popular attractions in the area and upcoming events at visitmorgancountyin.com.
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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.
