Media Advisory

Secretary Salazar to Host Travel & Tourism Town Hall at San Diego Zoo

04/03/2012

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Tomorrow afternoon, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will host a travel and tourism town hall at the San Diego Zoo to highlight California as a top tourist destination for outdoor recreation in the West. Home to over 4,000 rare and endangered animals, the San Diego zoo welcomes 3.5 million visitors each year. Combined with the 35 million visitors to California’s national park sites in 2011, the state has plenty of attractions and activities to offer tourists who are planning their next vacation.

The travel and tourism town hall comes as part of the Obama administration’s initiative – launched in January 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.