The Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau will lead local Texas travel workers in a travel Rally Day on Tuesday, May 6, as part of the 31st annual National Travel & Tourism Week. The event - replicated in countless cities nationwide - represents the travel community's collective call to showcase the importance and impact of travel on jobs and economic growth in Beaumont, Texas.

The gathering amplifies the US Travel Association's multiyear campaign - known as Travel Effect - to prove the huge impact that travel and tourism has on our lives, businesses and local, state and national economies.

"The numbers tell the story: Travel supports 14.9 million jobs across the nation, including many right here in Beaumont," said Dean Conwell, Executive Director for the Beaumont CVB. "Not only do the rally and National Travel and Tourism Week celebrate the benefits of travel in our community, but the monumental week also allows us to inform elected officials and local citizens about the industry's true widespread effect in Texas and across America."

Locally, the Travel Effect is especially significant:
• 3,141 Jobs supported by travel and tourism in Beaumont
• $5.1 million local tax revenue generated by travel and tourism

Across Texas, travel employs a diverse workforce, from airline and hotel employees, to restaurant and retail workers, as well as supports employees in other industry sectors such as construction, manufacturing and finance.
The Travel Effect is felt nationwide as well:
• $887.9 billion in travel-related spending;
• $133.9 billion generated in federal, state and local tax revenues; and
• 14.9 million American jobs supported - good paying jobs that cannot be outsourced.

In addition, travel promotes physical and physiological health and improves workplace productivity. In 2013, the average U.S. employee skipped 3.2 days of paid time off. According to a recent study, if workers used all of their available paid time off, the U.S. economy would gain $160 billion in additional annual business sales, which would support 1.2 million new jobs and generate $21 billion in new annual tax revenues. If employees would take just one additional day of earned leave each year, it would add $73 billion annually to the U.S. GDP.

"It is now empirical, rather than just anecdotal, that travel is a key driver for improving individual health and strengthening our businesses and economy," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, the umbrella organization representing the U.S. travel industry. "Travel holds measurable benefits for our minds, bodies, relationships, businesses and economy. Travel should be celebrated every day."

"Having worked in the travel industry for 13 years, I depend on visitors for my living," said Stephanie Molina, Director of Marketing at Beaumont CVB. "When people travel to Beaumont, Texas, it makes an enormous impact on the residents who live and work here."

Complete reports and data related to the Travel Effect, including "The Day Off Dividend," bottom-line impact of business travel and the impact of government meetings on public- and private-sector development, are available at www.traveleffect.com.