Business owners, the New Hanover County hospitality industry and elected officials will gather Friday at the Wilmington Convention Center to discuss how tourism impacts the community and include updates on hurricane recovery and strategic plans.

The sixth annual Travel Rally Breakfast, hosted by the Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), includes a program titled, “Travel Matters,” which will highlight and jump-start the county’s busy tourist season, according to a news release.

The event is part of New Hanover County’s National Travel & Tourism Week, May 5-11.

“During National Travel & Tourism Week we celebrate the many ways that travel matters in our community,” said Kim Hufham, president and CEO of the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority, in the news release. “Travel matters to businesses—small and large—that are impacted, either directly or indirectly, by the new dollars that visitors bring into our community.

"Travel also matters to our local citizens, as dollars generated by tourism help to build our local tax base and provide a tax relief of $226.98 for every resident of New Hanover County. Additionally, a portion of the room occupancy tax collections helps to renourish our beaches, fund our convention center, and offset other tourism-related activities such as ocean safety programs.”

The program will include insights from the CVB’s Hurricane/Comeback Recovery Campaign, an update on the TDA's new three-year Strategic Destination Plan and an introduction to CVB’s new marketing assets.

The winners of the third annual Tourism Star Award and honorary Tourism Pioneer Award will also be announced.

According to the release, New Hanover County travel provides more than 6,320 jobs and supports a payroll of about $141 million.