>See America Week

Click here for the See America Week Toolkit

See America Week, formerly known as National Tourism Week, is an annual event sponsored by TIA where hundreds of cities and towns across the nation promote greater public awareness of the powerful economic, social, and cultural impacts of travel and tourism through local events and celebrations.

 See America Week is from May 13–21, 2006.

Future See America Week Dates
See America Week/NTW, May 12–20, 2007
See America Week/NTW, May 10–18, 2008

The History of See America Week/National Tourism Week
See America Week is a TIA-sponsored annual event. Each year hundreds of communities across the nation participate in the celebration. Today this premier public advocacy program represents the single TIA activity that assists both members and non-members in pushing the Power of Travel to its most basic level, the grassroots. The purpose of See America Week is to promote a wider understanding of travel and tourism as a major U.S. industry that is vital to the economic stability and growth of the United States and that contributes substantially to its cultural and social well being.

National Tourism Week, as it was formerly known, was first established in 1983, when the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution designating the week to be celebrated in May 1984. In a White House Ceremony, President Ronald Reagan signed a Presidential Proclamation urging citizens to observe the week with "the appropriate ceremonies and activities." Industry leaders and public relations professionals from the major travel and tourism trade associations were the first volunteers to manage the annual event. By January 1986 industry leaders had formed a permanent full time office at TIA to sponsor the event and expand tourism awareness into year-round programs.

Often the travel and tourism industry is viewed as disjointed because only its most obvious segments, such as airlines, rental cars, hotels, and travel agents, are immediately recognized by the public or reported on by the media. TIA's Power of Travel resources help the public as well as the industry itself understand the interconnectedness of travel and tourism and how it takes each and every industry segment to assemble, then promote and sell the travel product. Only then can the consumer have a complete and satisfying travel experience.