FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Shows Appreciation During National Travel and Tourism Week
WILMINGTON, Delaware, May 9, 2023 — The Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, the destination marketing organization for New Castle County, is celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week, May 7 – 13, by honoring Northern Delaware’s more than 18,700 hospitality and tourism industry employees.
The annual National Tourism Week celebration, now in its 40th year, recognizes the contributions of the U.S. travel industry and spotlights the essential role travel plays in driving economic growth. In 2021, tourism in Northern Delaware generated more than $2.5 billion in visitor spending and more than $285 million in state and local taxes, according to Rockport Analytics.
The Bureau’s mission is to promote Greater Wilmington to leisure travelers, convention planners and group tours. It is thanking the region’s front line hotel staff for all they do with personalized notes and a special delivery of sweet treats from locally owned Janssen’s Market. These workers are most often the first point of contact for visitors to Greater Wilmington. It also ran “thank you for your service” ads in local publications to build awareness of the critical role tourism and hospitality workers play in supporting tourism growth.
Without tourism in Delaware, each household would pay an additional $1,608 in taxes, as stated in the Rockport Analytics report.
Jennifer Boes, executive director of the Bureau, said “The past several years have not been easy on our industry. Now more than ever, it is important to recognize the hard work and dedication of our tourism industry team members. Because of them, our industry has survived and thrived.”
According to Rockport Analytics, visitor spending in New Castle County saw a 26 percent increase from 2020 to 2021 and Boes added that all signs support continued growth through 2023.
This year’s National Travel and Tourism Week theme is #TravelForward. Please visit ustravel.org/NTTW to learn more.
About The Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau (GWCVB) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1978, chartered by the Governor of Delaware, the New Castle County Executive, and the Mayor of Wilmington. Its mission is to serve as the community’s customer-focused destination marketing organization, generating economic growth through leisure travel, and meetings development. For more information go to visitwilmingtonde.com.
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Above Image: (From Left to Right) Bill Sullivan, managing director of the Courtyard by Marriott Newark-University of Delaware and Chairman of the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors, is joined by Jennifer Boes, executive director of the Bureau, and members of his team: Jill Johnson, executive housekeeper; Cheryl Lepore, assistant front office manager; Mike Wind, front office manager; Sam Rambo, engineering supervisor; and Malik Muhammad, senior houseman.
A high resolution version of the image and the GWCVB National Tourism Week Ad can be found here: https://platform.crowdriff.com/m/s-DWvjKTw_4q7PX26R .
