#TravelMatters
May 6, 2019
Madden is on a mission to encourage people to discover new locations and experiences. We believe getting people out of their homes and into new places makes for stronger individuals, communities, and economies. As a nationally recognized leader in marketing, we work across the travel and tourism industry to help our clients showcase why others should discover the unique reasons they call it home.
Our partners range from destination marketing organizations in small communities to some of the most traveled destinations and attractions in the world. For 35+ years, the team at Madden has worked with our clients to stay informed of the latest research, marketing techniques, and technology solutions that can improve how they showcase their community. At Madden, we Connect People to Places because #TravelMatters!
Travel Matters for People
America is the most under-vacationed advanced economy in the world. We know from research conducted by U.S. Travel, vacation is essential for strong bonds, a productive workforce, and a fulfilled life. But each year, more than half of Americans leave vacation time on the table, accumulating to 705 million days in 2017.
There are countless reasons to travel, but the top of the list is telling about what matters. A decisive 85 percent of Americans report that seeing their child excited about an experience is reason enough to get away. Nearly all Americans say they want the opportunity to relax and reduce stress (82%) and the chance to make memories (81%).
Travel Matters for Business
“Freed from the daily stresses of my working life, I find that I am more likely to have new insights into old problems and other flashes of inspiration.”
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson wrote in an op-ed on taking
an inspiration vacation.
Time off has been behind many of America’s most admired companies. The filters that made Instagram so successful were inspired during a walk on the beach that founder Kevin Systrom took with his fiancé while on vacation in Mexico. Dropbox started as a simple idea that founder Drew Houston had while traveling. Lin Manuel Miranda, creator of Hamilton, came up with the idea for the musical on vacation. He told Arianna Huffington it was “no accident that the best idea I’ve ever had in my life—perhaps the best one I’ll ever have in my life—came to me on vacation.”
“Vacation is one of the few times, especially if someone has a full-time job, to be able to think deeply about a subject and create something new, because many things are new on a vacation, it naturally encourages
Bryan Mattimore, author of Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire
people to transcend their perceptual thinking ruts…which can be great fodder for new ideas.”
Creative Breakthroughs, told Forbes.
Travel Matters for Communities
According to U.S. Travel, In 2018, domestic and international travelers spent nearly $1.1 trillion ($1,089 billion) in the U.S. This spending directly supported 8.9 million jobs and generated $268 billion in payroll income and $171 billion in tax revenues for federal, state, and local governments.
In 2018, travel generated $2.5 trillion for the U.S. economy, supporting 15.7 million American jobs.
U.S. Travel Association
Accounting for 7.1 percent of total private industry employment in the U.S., travel directly supported 8.9 million U.S. jobs in 2018, an increase of 1.3 percent from 2017. Characterized as a labor-intensive industry, the power of travel to create jobs is much greater than in other industries. On average, every $1 million in sales of travel goods and services directly generates eight jobs for the industry. In contrast, every $1 million in total non-farm industry sales creates five jobs on average.
