According to Travel Daily News, jobs in U.K. tourism increased at twice the pace of those in other sectors from 2009 to 2014.

Tourism Minister David Evennett expressed excitement over the growing numbers, stating the intention to increase tourism industry apprenticeships and to “champion careers in tourism.”

Jobs in the tourism sector for the U.K. have grown from 2.66 million to 2.97 million, or almost 12% — impressive compared to the nation’s non-tourism sectors, which grew by only 5%.

Similar increases in the tourism industry have been known to lift up failing economies in the United States, as well. For example, approximately $34.6 billion poured into the Illinois state economy in 2013 as a result of spending from 100 million domestic visitors. Tourism has always supported local and national economies, both in the U.S. and abroad, by providing a variety of different jobs.

The highest rates of growth for U.K. tourism industries were recorded in accommodation and food and beverage serving, which both increased by 15% and created more than 220,000 jobs.

Other significant figures show that only 5% of tourism workers are casual or freelance, 5% are temporary or seasonal, and the other 90% are permanent workers. The profile of tourism workers tends to be younger, with 26% of workers aged 16 to 24, as opposed to 11% in non-tourism industries.

According to national tourism body VisitBritain, last year was a record-breaking year for visitor numbers, and growth is set to hopefully continue in 2016. The number of overseas visitors is expected to rise by 3.8%.

Tourism is the U.K.’s seventh largest export industry, and its third largest service sector. Patricia Yates of VisitBritain expressed optimism for further job creation in the industry, saying, “We’re working hard to encourage visitors to explore all of Britain’s nations an regions to ensure that the economic growth from tourism and the jobs that the industry is continuing to deliver are spread right across Britain.”