Travel Works is a roadshow that the U.S. Travel Association produces across the country. The goal is to elevate the awareness of travel and tourism, which is one of our nation’s largest industries. U.S. Travel’s endeavors reinforce our efforts to tell the positive and personal stories of our robust travel and tourism industry.

U.S. Travel partners with local communities to help share these unique stories through local roundtables with elected officials, back-of-house tours and more. Our campaign organized a variety of events to spotlight the many ways that travel works. Meet Minneapolis joined forces with our counterparts from Bloomington and St. Paul to highlight key visitor spots around the metro, culminating with the State Fair event. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a true champion of our travel and tourism industry, spoke alongside U.S. Travel CEO Geoff Freeman.

Minneapolis’ travel industry has seen tremendous recovery in 2024. From record hotel occupancy in August to multiple months of record hotel revenues, this year has been very encouraging.

However, these successes require continued vigilance in making sure we are creating an environment that encourages visitation from regional, national and international travelers. Among the issues U.S. Travel is focusing on for the betterment of our industry are:

• Shortening visa wait times from countries that generate a significant number of visitors. India is the fastest-growing country from which we draw visitors and visa wait times are excessive.
• Supporting U.S. destinations in attracting major international sporting events. Minnesota and Minneapolis can benefit from these initiatives.
• Elevating our country’s brand by supporting and partnering with Brand USA, our country’s destination marketing organization.

We thank our U.S. Travel colleagues for their support and leadership in promoting our industry locally and nationally.