With Memorial Day and the unofficial kick-off of the U.S. beach season approaching, UD Professors Robert Knecht and Biliana Cicin-Sain, sponsored by the National Sea Grant College Program, will discuss critical issues facing U.S. coastal tourism and recreation industries--the largest and fastest growing economic segments of the U.S. service industry.
Their presentation will take place Monday, May 18 at 9:30 a.m. during a "Morning Newsmaker" news conference at the National Press Club, 14th & F Streets, Washington, D.C. (Peter Zenger Room, 13th floor). Also speaking at the conference will be Tony Pratt, Beach Manager for the State of Delaware and Vice Mayor of Lewes, Del.
In the United States, one out of every six jobs is marine-related, with one third of our gross national product (GNP) produced in coastal areas. Over half the population lives and works within 50 miles of coastal areas along the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, and that group has been the fastest growing U.S. sector. About 180 million people visit our coastlines each year, and most Americans spend at least 10 days annually near a coast.
Knecht and Cicin-Sain co-authored a new report on coastal tourism and recreation for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as part of a larger report on ocean issues, to be discussed June 11-12 at the National Conference on the Oceans in Monterey, Calif., where Vice President Gore and President Clinton may speak. Copies of "Year of The Ocean Discussion Papers," published by NOAA, will be available May 18. The United Nations has declared 1998 as the "International Year of the Ocean."
WW News Media Center Site: http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/seagrantmediacenter/