In the last two years, the hospitality industry has witnessed high profits and new openings. One of the industries that have even crossed analysts’ predictions is the travel industry. It has managed to secure record breaking corporate profits. However, the corporate downsizing, escalating fuel prices, and social factors have brought forth turmoil in the industry. Almost every aspect of the hospitality/travel/tourism trade has suffered enormous losses. The states that have suffered the most for decreased tourism are New York, Florida, California, Hawaii, and Nevada. But, the good news is that with the stabilization in the economy and consumer, demands for industry professionals increases.

Following are some of the fascinating facts about hospitality industry:

• The lodging industry has approximately 53,500 properties which include 4.1 million rooms located throughout the nation.
• The tourism sector has been able to generate more than 7.8 million jobs, in the year 2000.
• The tourism sector has been estimated to pay around $171.5 billion for travel related salaries and $99 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.

We can conclude by saying that, though only few people realize the importance of the hospitality industry, in particular, the travel/tourism segment. However, what they fail to understand is the large portion of the GNP derived from tourism dollars. Consequently, as tourism diminishes, so does "tourism commerce" which, in turn, creates a negative economic impact on peripheral services such as ear rentals, furniture manufacturers, small businesses at travel destinations, and uniform manufacturers, etc. At present, a new trend that has caught the attention of many is the extended weekend travel. As a result, positions in marketing, consulting, hospitality, and culinary arts are very viable, lucrative careers.