As part of this year’s National Travel and Tourism Week, May 5-11, here is a statement from Brand USA, the tourism marketing organization of the United States.

“Tourism, after all, is among the most powerful generators of economic impact in the United States. By virtue of its ubiquitous presence, the tourism industry continues to benefit the nation’s citizenry in communities – large and small – throughout the USA. It provides an influx of revenue and prosperity, while building and fortifying the appeal of communities everywhere.

“It becomes readily apparent that a thriving tourism industry is essential for advancing the overall U.S. economy – in terms of generating total tax revenue and creating jobs. The travel industry, for instance, supports 15.7 million jobs across the United States, making it the seventh-largest, private-sector employer.

“Since we began operations in 2011 as the first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier, world-class travel destination, and to communicate U.S. travel policies and procedures to international travelers, we have consistently spotlighted the varied U.S. travel opportunities and destinations in all 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia.

“The United States provides international travelers more value in its diversity of experiences than any other place in the world and Brand USA looks forward to continuing to work with our partners to market the USA as the ultimate travel destination.

Measures of achievement

“Brand USA’s record of performance has been an impressive one. It has been predicated upon the collaborative efforts we steadily forge with our ever-expanding network of 900 partners.

“Over the past six years, as revealed in a study by Oxford Economics, Brand USA marketing has generated 6.6 million incremental international visitors to the United States. Those visitors accounted for $21.8 billion in incremental spending and supported the creation of nearly 52,000 incremental U.S. jobs each year. The total economic impact of Brand USA marketing during that span totaled $47.7 billion.

“During Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018), Brand USA marketing generated 1.13 million incremental international visitors who spent $4.1 billion on travel-related expenses. That level of economic activity translated into an $8.9-billion boost for the national economy.

“Moreover, the Oxford study showed that the return on investment, or ROI, for our allocation of marketing dollars during FY2018 was 32:1. In other words, for every dollar we spent on marketing, international visitors spent $32 during their trips to the USA.

“Brand USA salutes National Travel and Tourism Week. We encourage all Americans to recognize the benefits of a flourishing tourism industry in every corner of our land.”

For information about visiting Massachusetts, go to MassVacation.com.