[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21781]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            INTRODUCTION OF NATIONAL PLAN YOUR VACATION DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JON C. PORTER

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2006

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to submit a resolution that 
would support the goals and ideas of a National Plan Your Vacation Day.
  I have introduced this resolution today because I believe that 
vacations play an important roll in creating a lifetime of memories 
that may be shared between individuals, friends, and families. 
Furthermore, travel opens our minds and hearts to different cultures, 
places and people. As Mark Twain wrote: ``Travel is fatal to prejudice, 
bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it solely 
on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things 
cannot be acquired by vegetating in one corner of the earth all one's 
lifetime.''
  Travel is vital to our health and well-being as a strong and vibrant 
economy. The southern Nevada area is one of the top American and 
international tourist destinations. The city of Las Vegas has earned a 
reputation as the convention capital of the world. In 2005, the city 
hosted 22,154 conventions, attended by some 6.2 million people. In 
fact, two-thirds of every dollar spent in the State of Nevada is a 
product of the tourism industry.
  With the advancements in technology, making travel arrangements to 
visit Las Vegas or other destinations has never been easier. In fact, 
in this new broadband world, where businesses need not be built on 
brick and mortar, we have seen a transformation and evolution to online 
commerce. For example, October 23, 2006 marks the 10-year anniversary 
of Expedia.com, an innovative online travel company which maintains 
significant operations centers in Las Vegas with over 300 employees; I 
congratulate Expedia.com as one of the world's leading online travel 
providers with 25 million visitors to its site monthly and for its 
efforts to broaden this exciting, valuable industry.
  Congress should encourage American workers to benefit from their hard 
work by taking time to travel and creating memories that will last a 
lifetime. It is for these reasons that I take great pleasure in asking 
my colleagues to join me in supporting the goals and ideas of a 
National Plan Your Vacation Day.

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