This is National Travel and Tourism Week, and Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen is urging everyone to help celebrate the state’s 3rd-largest industry and last year’s record-breaking numbers.
Visitor spending jumped 20% or $800-million dollars to $4.4-billion last year as travelers celebrated the easing of pandemic restrictions.
      There were 40,260 travel-related jobs in Nebraska last year, an increase of 7.2% from 2021, while the number of overnight visitors rose by 500,000 to more than 11.7-million.Â
       Nebraska Tourism Executive Director John Ricks says everyone should be pleased with the continued economic impact tourism provides and with the fact that the sustained growth in tourism-related spending in the state is outpacing inflation.Â
      Ricks adds that with the tourism industry vital to many individual communities as well the state, he’s proud to take this week to “recognize the hard work and importance of anyone and everyone involved in making and keeping Nebraska a great place to visit.”