Travel and tourism is no longer a cottage industry, it's big business. President Clinton held a tourism conference last fall to highlight its importance to the economy. The conference was one of the best attended White House events of its kind. Some 90 percent of leisure travellers use our highway system. Because the highways make our national parks, forests, and cities accessible.
Millions also use our commercial airlines.
Just this morning I released a new report concluding some 47 million more people are flying a year on low-cost airlines. When you add all this up, it means more people travelling and seeking new places to go, creating jobs and generating new economic activity at the places they visit. And our scenic byways are among the most attractive places to visit. With your help, we'll continue fighting to protect our scenic byways and to make them roads that people will want to travel. So as we continue working together to make scenic byways a key part of our highway system, I urge you to think about the future.