SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT) will honor National Travel and Tourism 
Week, which runs through May 15, with an effort to enlist the state’s tourism industry in the Power of Travel Coalition, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki announced today.
“The Power of Travel Coalition is a grassroots effort to unite those employed and affected by the tourism industry. Much of our tourism industry in Nevada is led by grassroots volunteers, so there is a natural parallel between the coalition and our industry,” Krolicki, NCOT chair, said. “This shows the power of volunteers and those who care deeply about the health of the industry and our state.”
Tourism is Nevada’s No. 1 industry, employing about 427,000 Nevadans. Nationally, tourism employs 10.1 million Americans, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Every employee in every restaurant, hotel, gift shop, transportation company, airline, museum and special event can count himself or herself a part of the vast industry that drives Nevada’s economy.
The U.S. Travel Association established the Power of Travel Coalition to amplify the voices of the millions of Americans employed by the tourism industry. It is the only national association tasked with promoting travel to the United States and working to elevate the importance of the industry among lawmakers.
“Travel is a force in America’s economy that is simply too important to ignore. It’s responsible for employing one out of every nine Americans, more people than other giants like the insurance or automotive industries,” Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, the umbrella organization representing the U.S. travel industry, said. “During National Travel and Tourism Week, we are uniting to showcase why travel matters to our country, to businesses and to individuals.”
To get involved with the Power of Travel Coalition, Nevadans simply have to go the website, www.travelcoalition.org, and enter their name and e-mail address. This will enroll them to receive updates on legislation affecting tourism, issues facing the industry and efforts made nationally and locally to protect and promote the tourism industry.
“The process to become involved is so simple yet so crucial to forming a solid, connected network of those touched by the tourism industry,” NCOT Interim Director Larry Friedman said. “We chose to use National Travel and Tourism Week to make a push to our partners to sign up and get involved and show that Nevadans will be counted and will be heard on the national level.”
NCOT will contact its network of tourism partners and volunteers this week and ask that they join the Power of Travel Coalition. To find out more and to get involved, visit www.travelcoalition.org. To find out more about NCOT, visit www.TravelNevada.com.
