Travel and tourism: an overlooked industry in the U.S. and Tenth District.

Abstract

With the onset of recession in early 2001, the U.S. travel and tourism industry fell into its worst slump since World War II. The September 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent tightening of airport restrictions dealt the industry an unprecedented blow. Many travel destinations continued to suffer in 2002 and early 2003 from a declining stock market, sluggish economic recovery, and war in Iraq. Prior to these recent difficulties, however, travel and tourism’s role in the national economy had been rising steadily for decades. As in the nation, the travel and tourism industry has become increasingly important in the Tenth Federal Reserve District. 1 Indeed, by the late 1990s, the industry contributed more to gross output in the district than either agriculture or oil and gas extraction, the region’s defining industries for much of the 20th century. Travel and tourism is especially important in the district’s Rocky Mountain states, which are home to popular vacation spots like Yellowstone National Park, Santa Fe, and the