CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The State of West Virginia is launching a new initiative to bolster the ranks of its growing tourism industry.
As reported by local news station WDTV, State Gov. Jim Justice recently spoke to several students about Tourism Works, a statewide workforce development program. The article states it is estimated West Virginia’s tourism industry will have 21,000 new job openings annually as it grows.
Justice said they will begin training students to be prepared for these types of jobs, and it is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“We’ve got tourism jumpstarted like you can’t even imagine. We might go from 21,000 to 210,000 job openings in the blink of an eye,” Justice said during his speech. “West Virginia is the most special place on the planet. We are absolutely the diamond in the rough the world has missed. Keep it going.”
The article states that according to Justice, almost half of those 21,000 job openings are management level, with salaries up to $60,000. He also noted that tourism brought in $5 billion in visitor spending in 2022, a record for West Virginia.
According to the article, education programs focusing on the hospitality and tourism sectors have been launched in all 55 counties across the state. Tourism will be a career choice highlighted in middle schools as well, while a pilot program will allow students to earn college credits and career certifications at the high school level.
The state’s education and tourism departments are also accepting applications for grants that will support students to create tourism infrastructure projects on public lands.
