Tourism Committees and Why Your Town Needs One

We all know that the trade deficit of the United States is not good. When we trade with other countries, we need to make sure that they are buying something from us as well, or that we are doing triangular trade where we buy something from one country, they buy something from somewhere else, and those people in that third location turn around and buy stuff from us. That keeps the money flowing in the global economy, and it's good for jobs, good for industry, it is good for inefficiency and free-markets. It prevents scarcity, helps to feed the world, and does wonders for international relations.



Okay so, that's how the global economy works on a macro scale, but let's talk about your own town on a micro scale. Cities and towns also have trade surpluses or deficits. Consider if you will when a city is along a freeway. People traveling from one place to another stop off and spend money in that town before continuing on. Towns which have tourism or a strong hospitality industry, or even significantly good weather during the winter time will pick up additional dollars from snowbirds.

If your town has more money coming in than then going out, that means you have a trade surplus, and it also means that your local business community does better. When that happens you have more jobs, and you can better weather downturns in the business cycle. This doesn't mean you won't be hurt when fuel prices go up or the economy goes down, but if you have a constant flow of tourist dollars coming in you can do better than other cities and towns in the US. Because of this it makes sense to have a tourist committee as part of your economic development plan.

What I would suggest is that you get with the local Chamber of Commerce and you help pool the resources of all the businesses in town which would generate income from those who travel into your city. The obvious ones are hotels, airports, taxicab companies, casinos, museums, shopping districts, and various attractions that you might have. Even towns that are quite out of the way can figure out some sort of tourist play. Some reason to get people to come in and spend money.

Sometimes it takes a little bit of branding, a little bit of marketing, and strong word-of-mouth, but the sooner you get started, the sooner you can get that cash flow coming in to your town, then you can allow it to circulate around providing jobs for everyone. Please consider all this and think on it.