The video, which the Travel Business Roundtable (TBR) has released to coincide with National Travel and Tourism Week (May 7�11), celebrates the travel and tourism industry and highlights the industry�s economic importance across the country. 

Participating TBR companies will show the video through their in-room/in-flight entertainment programming. In addition, Amtrak will also run the video in their passenger lounges. Participating companies include:

• Amtrak 
• Cendant Corporation
• Delta Air Lines
• FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated 
• Hilton Hotels 
• Hyatt Hotels 
• Loews Hotels
• Radisson Hotels & Resorts
• The Taubman Company
• Universal Studios

Footage for the video was provided by participating companies, along with other member organizations of TBR including: The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, NYC & Co., Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Office of the Mayor for the City of New Orleans.

�As the unsung hero of the U.S economy, travel and tourism has generated more than 56.7 million jobs, $3.7 trillion in expenditures, $622 billion in state, local and federal taxes, and $157 billion in trade surpluses over the last eight years,� notes Tisch.  "Yet, despite such robust economic performance, the industry�s contributions to the prosperity of American life are not fully recognized, understood, or strategically developed by many policy makers.  That is why we hope that this video � which will be seen by millions of people traveling and shopping -- will serve as a way to communicate the industry�s ability to serve as an engine for job creation, community development, small business growth and export generation.�

Prior to National Travel and Tourism Week, TBR will hold its Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., which will include a reception with members of Congress and a White House briefing. In keeping with TBR�s overall mission to help educate elected officials on the economic significance, TBR will continue to encourage the 107th Congress to focus on several priorities that impact the travel and tourism industry.

These include:

• Formation of a Presidential Advisory Council on Travel and Tourism
• Travel and Tourism Industry Worker Shortage
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit
• Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit
• Raising the visibility of the U.S. as an International Travel Destination
• Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts
• Minimum Wage Policy
• Business Meal Deduction
• Expanding Aviation Capacity 
• American with Disability Act Accessibility Guidelines

Projected to be the world�s largest industry within the decade, travel and tourism is also America�s leading services export, travel and tourism created a trade surplus of nearly $14 billion in 2000, generating $93 billion of tax revenue and more than $550 billion in total expenditures.