[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TODAY IS NATIONAL TOURIST APPRECIATION DAY

  (Mr. FARR of California asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, as all those in the gallery may 
not recognize, but today is National Tourist Appreciation Day, and this 
week is National Tourism Week. It is time to reflect that travel and 
tourism in America is our largest service export industry, the second 
largest employer in the United States and the third largest in retail 
sales. In 1996, tourism in the United States generated an estimated 
$467 billion in total expenditures. It directly employs 6.6 million 
Americans and indirectly employs 8.9 million.
  In 1995, 236,000 new jobs were created as a direct result of domestic 
and international tourism in the United States. American travelers 
spent alone $685,000 per minute on travel and tourism, and 
international travelers spent $151,000 per minute in the United States.
  In my district, travel and tourism brings in $1.5 billion a year and 
more than 20,000 jobs. This week more than 3,000 communities across the 
United States will participate in recognizing the importance of travel 
and tourism. I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

                          ____________________