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State Tourism News 2011 OFFICIAL NORTH CAROLINA TRAVEL GUIDE UNVEILED The 2011 North Carolina Travel Guide is now available. Cabarrus County is featured on the inside back cover of the guide. Copies can be picked up at the Dale Earnhardt Blvd. Visitors Center. The 2011 Travel Guide features stories on the Civil War and its 150th anniversary, which starts next year; film locations across the state; art museums; spas and resorts; breweries; and restaurants that offer local flavor. It includes listings for more than 800 attractions and almost 4,000 accommodations. In addition, the digital version of the Travel Guide offers video tours and an interactive Blue Ridge Parkway map. The guide also includes a fold -out road map listing wineries across the state. The cover features the Division's Urban Experiences ad from its "Simple Pleasures" campaign, emphasizing that power of the right time, place and company can seemingly make time stand still. About 600,000 travel guides will be distributed through the state's nine Welcome Centers, sent to callers of 1- 800 - VISIT -NC, ordered by visitors to VisitNC.com, and distributed at travel shows. National Tourism News ECONOMY IN BETTER SHAPE BUT CHALLENGES REMAIN, SAYS U.S. TRAVEL OUTLOOK While there are still challenges to contend with, economic prospects are certainly brighter than they were at this time in 2009. The economy as a whole is expected to strengthen over the next year. According to Oxford Economics, there will be a moderate acceleration in growth over the next few quarters and, on an annual basis, GDP growth of 2.7 percent is expected for 2010, and 2.5 percent in 2011. Third quarter GDP growth was up 2.5 percent, but recent employment data was revealed to be much weaker than expected in November. Nevertheless, when reviewing the data on an annual basis, the job outlook is much better than a year ago in December 2009. Since then, more than 1.1 million private sector jobs have been created. Consumer confidence is still weak, but improved from last month and consumers are more positive about job prospects than they have been in months. The transportation sector is clearly showing signs of improvement, particularly with Amtrak ridership ( +7.1 percent year -to- date). Domestic passenger enplanements are up 0.4 percent year -to -date, and international enplanements are up 6.0 percent. Higher demand and rising fares are contributing to air passenger revenue gains. October 2010 marked the 10th consecutive month of revenue growth. The third quarter of 2010 was the most profitable in history for the major airlines as a whole. Recovery in the lodging sector continues to be evident. Smith Travel Research reports that they n L 1 -2 Page 261