Mary Strominger Raum City of Palestine Dear Ms. Raum: Please find the following copy of the Palestine Community Tourism Assessment Report conducted by state agency members from the Office of the Governor – Economic Development and Tourism, Texas Historic Commission, the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Department of Transportation. We hope this report will be a useful extension to the ideas which were generated throughout the visit and will contribute to the growth of tourism in your area in the future. Please extend our appreciation to the residents who gave their time, knowledge and resources to host the assessment activities. Palestine has many exciting resources available for further tourism development and has great potential to grow as a travel destination in the future. Tourism staff will continue to be available for any clarifications you may need. For questions or assistance please contact me at 512/936-1834 or
[email protected]. Sincerely, Cole Hubbard Tourism Research Coordinator Office of the Governor, Economic Development & Tourism P.O. BOX 12428 | AUSTIN, TX 78711 | 512- 936-0100 | WWW. TRAVELTEXAS . COM PALESTINE, TX COMMUNITY TOURISM ASSESSMENT MAY 22 - 23, 2018 Importance of Tourism • Estimated direct travel spending in Texas totaled more than $74.7 billion in 2017, which directly supported 677,600 jobs and generated $7 billion in state and local taxes. • Travel supports jobs across many industry sectors: Leisure and hospitality Transportation Retail trade Services Finance Real estate Construction Insurance Government and others Importance of Tourism in Palestine • In 2017, it was estimated there was more than $38 million in total direct visitor spending within Palestine.