Why Travel Matters in Minnesota

We drive by popular tourist sites like the Mall of America every day; we may not even think of how it supports our community. But the Mall of America and other popular destinations like the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Paisley Park and our college and professional sports venues are critical to the Twin Cities. These places define our community, provide our families with jobs and have given us — and millions of annual visitors — a lifetime of memories.

Travel matters, and it improves Minnesota in ways that have a wide-reaching impact on our community. Travel and tourism created over 154,000 jobs in 2017, and it also has an impact that we do not always see: travel can strengthen families, foster hometown pride, and build bridges that connect us.

At the national level, travel is critical to the U.S. economy and American jobs. As a leader in workforce development and career advancement, travel creates and supports 15.7 million jobs across the U.S., making it the seventh-largest private sector employer. In 2018, traveler spending generated $171 billion in total tax revenue, including $78.6 billion in state and local revenue. That $78.6 billion can pay for a host of critical resources: it’s more than enough to pay all state and local police and firefighters, or the more than one million public high school teachers.

Travel is powerful for cities and states, and Minnesota is no exception. Domestic and international travelers to Minnesota spent $14.6 billion in 2017 and generated $4 billion to federal, state and local governments. These dollars help fund jobs and public programs such as police, firefighters, teachers, road projects and convention centers.

Think back to your first job. Maybe you worked at a local business that has been around a while, or maybe your kids or even grandkids work there now. For many – one-third of Americans to be exact – travel is the front door to a promising career. Americans whose first job was in travel have an average career salary of $81,900, and two in five of those whose first job was in travel are now earning more than $100,000.

Those are only a few reasons why it’s so important to keep welcoming visitors to Minnesota — and why the travel and tourism industry is elevating the message of “Travel Matters” during National Travel and Tourism Week from May 5-11. We encourage you to join us in celebrating travel this week and everything it does for our community.

For more great ideas and travel industry resources, check out the U.S. Travel Association.