MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH)– A rally by the newly formed Connecticut Tourism Coalition is happening Tuesday with hopes of bringing more visitors to the state.

Connecticut has beaches, amazing state parks, casinos and quaint little villages. Tourism is important to our state, creating thousands of jobs and bringing in millions of dollars every year.

Those of us that live in the state often forget about all that we have to offer not just visitors but ourselves if we were to take a stay-cation. But every year thousands and thousands of visitors drive these roads and make our state their vacation destination and the stats behind strengthening the industry are encouraging.

According to the Tourism Coalition every year there is $14 billion spent by travelers. The industry supports over 118,000 jobs and brings in $1.6 billion tax revenue. And $513 million state taxes.

The Tourism Coalition is made up of business owners, hotel operators, government officials, all coming together to keep those numbers strong and growing. The hope is that by getting more people involved in their efforts they will secure more tourism funding and create a better pro-business policy.

Tuesday they will be hosting a tourism advocacy day at the state capitol to introduce what they’re about and get other people and businesses excited about moving the industry forward.

So why is all this important? Well, all that revenue supports the things that make our state a great one to live in. Education, health and human services, new transportation programs. The event starts at 10:45 at the state capitol and is open to the public.