根据美国旅行协会的《美国制造：旅行对劳动力发展的贡献》，旅行业的工作导致更高的工资和财务上的永久立足点，超过了制造业和医疗保健领域的薪酬。
美国旅行社在第36届年度全国旅行和旅游周的背景下发布了这项研究。 该报告是《美国旅行》“美国制造”系列中的第二篇，着重强调了旅行对美国经济的重要性。该报告发现，旅行业的工作为数以百万计的美国人提供了繁荣之路。
在主要发现中：
• Travel is the No. 1 industry for first jobs. Nearly four in 10 workers got their start in travel and tourism. Moreover, they are good first jobs that give workers skills, confidence and experience that are essential to successful careers in a broad spectrum of occupations.
• Individuals who began their career in travel have gone on to earn a peak average salary of $82,400 by the time they were 50 years old—higher than those who started in manufacturing, health care and other industries.
• Nearly a third of Americans (31%) re-entering the workforce do so through a job in the travel industry—compared to just 12% in manufacturing and 8% in health care. Travel jobs have the flexibility, availability, diversity and focus on practical skills to launch a rewarding career.
该报告还包括对从事旅游业并因此实现了美国梦的个人的案例研究。
美国旅行协会主席兼首席执行官罗杰说：“像许多美国人一样，我的第一份工作是旅游业，是酒店泳池的救生员，这为我奠定了技能和机会的基础，从而使他获得了长期而丰厚的职业生涯。”陶氏“旅行业的工作是所有美国人都能唯一获得的，并为他们提供了坚实而终生的途径。 简而言之，旅行是通向美国梦的大门。”
该报告的其他一些重要内容：
• Travel industry jobs provide flexibility for pursuit of higher education and training. Of the 6.1 million Americans working part-time while pursuing higher education in 2018, more than half were employed in travel-related industries. Nearly one in five (18%) travel industry employees currently attend school, compared to the 8% of workers attending school in other sectors of the economy.
• The travel industry is diverse and accessible compared to other industries. Nearly half (46%) of travel industry employees have a high school degree or less, compared to 30% of employees of the rest of the economy. Travel also has a greater share of Hispanics, African Americans and multi-ethnic individuals than the rest of the economy.
• Experience in travel fosters entrepreneurs. Seventeen percent of Americans whose first job was in travel now own their own business, and 19% consider themselves entrepreneurs—again, a higher figure than manufacturing and health care. Of women who started their career in the travel industry, 14% now consider themselves entrepreneurs, compared to only 10% of those who started out in health care.
• The travel industry fills the skills gap. Through training, education, certification programs and firsthand experience, the industry is providing resources and opportunities for high school and college students, minorities, females and individuals with barriers to employment such as the lack of a formal education.
陶氏表示：“统计数据真是棒极了，但是当您阅读个人资料时，旅游业对就业的真正影响就变得很明显。” “每个故事之一都提供了旅游业为任何想要谋生的人所拥有的潜力的快照。
“该报告进一步强调了旅行对我们国家的工作和经济至关重要，我们的政府应优先考虑旅行政策，以确保该行业继续增长。”
该报告主要依据美国劳工统计局1979年和1997年全国青年纵向调查的数据，探索了第一位从事旅游业的个人的职业道路。
