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Tourism News — Articles posted on the Visit INC News Link <br />HAGAN: TOURISM HELPING RECOVERY IN NORTH CAROLINA <br />During last week's budget negotiations in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Kay -Hagan cited the effects of <br />a potential federal government shutdown on travel and tourism in North Carolina. "We have 368 <br />national parks in our country. Millions of dollars will be lost to the businesses surrounding those <br />parks if we shut down the government. In April of 2010 alone, in North Carolina, more than 1.3 <br />million people visited the national parks and spent millions of dollars," she said on the floor of <br />the Senate. "Tourism in North Carolina is one of our state's largest industries. In 2010, tourists <br />spent $17 billion across our state, and the tourism industry supports 185,000 jobs for North <br />Carolinians. More than 40,000 businesses in North Carolina provide direct services to travelers. <br />If we close our national parks, these small businesses are at risk of losing customers, losing <br />money, which will make it much more difficult for my state to recover from this tough economy." <br />To see Sen. Hagan's full comments in the Congressional Record, click here <br />WHAT RISING FUEL COSTS MEANS TO TRAVEL RECOVERY <br />The rebound in travel has generally been in a recovery mode but rising gas prices could do <br />more than raise airfare tickets and torpedo the airline recovery: What might the even higher <br />prices mean to the overall travel industry? Experts say it depends on various factors. They <br />include the particular segment of the industry; how reliant cities and destinations are on drive -in <br />tourism business; and perhaps most critical of all: how much will oil prices rise? Travel was not <br />so long ago celebrating the end of the recession. Hotels said rising occupancy rates meant they <br />could raise their prices. Leisure travel companies reported signs of growth. Business travel was <br />also rebounding, reported PhoCusWright. One major impact could be on increased business by <br />locals for local attractions. To find out more, click here <br />N.C. MOTORSPORTS ATTRACTIONS FEATURED IN USA TODAY <br />Through the efforts of the Division and its tourism partners, many of the state's NASCAR - related <br />attractions received coverage in the April 15 weekend edition of USA Today. With the help of <br />the partners, the Division worked with travel writer Jayne Clark on a three -day visit to the state <br />to learn first -hand about tourism related to motorsports. The result, " Road trip to revved -up <br />Charlotte, heart of NASCAR which ran in last Friday's edition, featured a visit with racing <br />legend Junior Johnson plus visits to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Rousch Fenway Racing, <br />Charlotte Motor Speedway and Performance Instruction & Training school. USA Today has a <br />circulation of 1,830,594 with a readership that more than doubles that number. And that doesn't <br />even include all the people who will see the online edition (estimated 709,049 viewers) which <br />features an extensive photo gallery. <br />Attachment number 1 <br />1 -2 Page 374 <br />