• by Tanya Gazdik , January 16, 2013

A national awareness campaign will showcase new research that highlights travel’s positive effect on life, business and community.

The campaign, which includes the Web site TravelEffect.com, aims to make sure people understand the impact that travel has on relationships, health, education, business and communities. The group, under the twitter name @ustravel and hashtag #traveleffect, is also using the social media channel to promote the effort.

The campaign will use earned and paid media to convey research findings, with an emphasis on social media. In addition, state and district data that provide key travel impact measurements will be posted.

Many people get the sense that travel strengthens relationships, improves health and can even help close a business deal, but they don't know it as fact, said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry.

"What we've long known anecdotally, we will prove through authoritative research: Travel has a measurable and positive effect on health, relationships, business performance and the well-being of communities,” Dow said in a release.

Since travel supports 14.4 million American jobs and $1.9 trillion in economic output, the more people travel in the U.S., the more it improves the country’s economy, he adds.

Research projects and studies demonstrate the benefits that travel brings to people's lives, their careers and their communities.  

Current research examines the effect of travel on relationships and its power to create lasting memories for children and adults. Additional projects underway measure the bottom-line impact of business travel and the impact of government meetings on government operations, private-sector development and local communities.

"We are excited for Americans to take note of the positive effect travel has on our lives and our communities," said Dow.

"Airport Luggage Belt photo from Shutterstock"