The top U.S. tourism destinations — Forever 39 Podcast

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From sea to shining sea — what's your favorite destination?

Tourism translates into big bucks in the United States with domestic and international travelers spending $2.7 billion a day, according to the U.S. Travel Association. In 2016, direct spending on leisure travel totaled $683.1 billion. And tourism doesn't just translate into dollars. It also provides jobs to millions of people — 6 million jobs to be exact. And imagine this ... if the U.S. didn't have a tourism industry, each taxpayer would be on the hook for $1,250 more in taxes per year. Yikes!

So now that we've established just how big of a deal tourism is to the U.S. economy, let's talk about where people like to go. According to a new survey from TheCashlorette.com, the most popular domestic destinations among U.S. adults are Hawaii, Florida, California, Alaska, and Colorado. Are any of these on your list of favorites?

In this Forever 39 episode, we rundown the most memorable trips we've taken in the U.S. From driving the Pacific Coast Highway in California, to eating a Chicago-style hot dog, to listening to jazz in New Orleans — we've been lucky to experience some of what we consider to be this country's crown jewels.

What's your favorite U.S. destination? Email us at forever39@nj1015.com.

Also from this week's Forever 39 podcast — Why women carry the mental load in relationships. PLUS: The rise of alcoholism among women. Click on the podcast player above to hear the entire episode.

Share your thoughts on all of them below, on Twitter, on Facebook or at forever39@nj1015.com.

— Annette and Megan, Forever 39

Join us for next week’s podcast when we chat about why people start hating their job at 35, the stores and shopping apps we can't get enough of, and confusing nutritional studies.