Visit Springfield, the city’s tourism bureau, is recognizing the economic contributions of workers in the travel industry for National Travel and Tourism Week.
The Visit Springfield CEO Mark Hecquet said that each year millions of tourists come to Springfield, generate more than $1 billion and support nearly 20,000 jobs.
Springfield’s notoriety is expected to only grow after the spotlight it received for the Route 66 Centennial Kickoff Celebration and its Today Show visit last week.
Data on the economic impact of the celebration is still being collected by Visit Springfield, as they hope to have more information available in the next few weeks.
(photo courtesy of Route 66 Centennial Kickoff celebration)