Take heed, travel fans — it’s National Travel and Tourism Week! By and large we consider ourselves travel champions (personally and professionally), but this particular week allows the opportunity to pay homage to journeying. Have you booked a 2017 trip yet? Around here, the travel checklist includes Cape Cod, Nashville, Rhode Island, Australia and Italy! Bon voyage.

Our partnerships with destination marketing clients illustrates our dedication to keeping the travel industry rocking and rolling, so we easily got behind this year’s theme, “Faces of Travel.” We consider ourselves lucky to come in contact with numerous individuals who work tirelessly, sometimes behind the scenes, to make the visitor experience exceptional — whether a well-known destination or a hidden gem.

Ensuring our clients’ marketing is on the map for numerous destinations and attractions, we like the idea of being part of this “Faces of Travel” group. Along with our destination-marketing clients, we share an enthusiasm for the travel experience and know it’s beneficial for local communities and those employed by the travel industry. We value the role we play in promoting travel and tourism from our own little hot spot in Atlanta, especially for some lesser-known, though great, areas.

As we give a shout-out to those faces behind travel, let’s also give one to the maybe less-considered sides of tourism. Most of us concede to regular musings on trips taken or planned, but how much do we know about tourism and its effects?

Get some digits

The workings of the travel and tourism industry may not top everyone’s “stuff we should know” list, but whether we’re talking economic benefit to those traveling into the U.S. or jobs supported by the travel industry, the facts and figures are pretty impressive.

Destination: home

You own a home, go to work, pay taxes and send your kids to school in your town or city, but have you ever looked beyond your resident status and considered it through the eyes of a visitor? Don’t live in Orlando or D.C.? Trust us, your CVB is working hard to get potential visitors saying “yes!” to a trip to your area even if you don’t have live-action cartoon characters running around or monuments on the landscape. Be thankful for this. Despite increased crowds or traffic at times (it can’t be any worse than ours), be assured, the benefit to your local economy justifies occasional inconveniences.

 Keep it local

Speaking of your home base, there’s no distance requirement in taking a journey. Consider vacation-worthy activities on a local level and ways you can work in some local attractions for a spectacular staycation.

All-access pass: your CVB

I’ll admit, I wasn’t particularly aware of these vital organizations until I started working with them. I can now confirm: CVBs work tirelessly, and though mainly focused on bettering the visitor experience, a lot of what they do has positive influence on residents as well. So check out your local visitors center or consult your CVB website for in-town fun. Live in Georgia? We’ve already got some picked out for you here, here and here.

Travel and tourism connects the world and gives us all insight into how others live. Even if it weren’t one of our major niches, we’d still drive the distance, hop a train or set sail to experience new destinations. Happy journeying!