DOI: Secretary Salazar to Host Town Hall at Independence Hall to Discuss Travel and Tourism

On Thursday, Mar. 15, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis will host a town hall meeting at Independence National Historical Park to discuss how to boost travel and tourism as a means to strengthen local economies and create jobs in Philadelphia.

Secretary Salazar and Director Jarvis will join Congressman Chaka Fattah and Irina Bokova, the Director General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), who is visiting Independence Hall to mark the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. The World Heritage Convention, the international treaty that established the World Heritage List, seeks to recognize and protect unique places around the world for future generations, such as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Acropolis in Greece and the Grand Canyon.

As one of only eight U.N.-designated cultural World Heritage sites in the United States, Independence Hall draws more than 3.7 million visitors each year, generates $146 million in economic activity and supports more than 2,100 jobs.

In January, President Obama directed his administration to create a new national tourism strategy focused on creating jobs by becoming even more welcoming to guests from here at home and from all over the globe. As part of this initiative, Secretary Salazar and Secretary of Commerce John Bryson are working to develop recommendations for a National Travel and Tourism Strategy to promote domestic and international travel opportunities throughout the United States with a particular focus on strategies for increasing tourism by promoting visits to our national treasures, such as Independence Hall.

WHO: Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO
Chaka Fattah, U.S. Congressman
Rachel Jacobson, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior
Jon Jarvis, Director, National Park Service
Cynthia MacLeod, Superintendent, National Park Service

WHAT: Travel & Tourism Town Hall / 40th Anniversary of UNESCO’S World Heritage Convention WHEN: Thursday, March 15, 2012
10:30am EDT  Travel and Tourism Town Hall
11:30am EDT  Media Availability

WHERE: Congress Hall
5th and Chestnut Streets
Philadelphia, PA

RSVP: Media interested in attending must RSVP to Jane_Cowley@nps.gov or 215-597-0060.