Except at the South Shore IN CVB, where Spero Batistatos' Org Chart starts with a box over the Board:

"The Hospitality Industry...with 35,000 Jobs."

A great thing to keep in mind this National Tourism Week...that those of us in the Destination Marketing Industry are in service to the Hospitality Industry. And those thousands of stakeholders, whether they know it or not, depend on us each and every day.

As I reflected on this yesterday, I increasingly came to believe that there should be another box over the Hospitality Industry...and that would be the community as a whole. Because the work we do in the Destination Marketing arena touches every single resident in our region.



If not for the jobs we support, unemployment would be higher. With more people out of work, there will be less spending on retail, restaurants, entertainment and basic services. Tax revenues will decline, causing government to cut basic services and force school boards to eliminate teachers and programs.

Which, in turn, will produce a next generation of citizens that are woefully unprepared to compete in the global marketplace. Which will cause the cycle to continue to swirl.

Tourism is very much like the wings of the butterfly. So few think anything of it...but the impact can be global.

Food for thought during this National Travel & Tourism Week.