MILTON, Del. - A celebration of tourism took place at popular destinations throughout the state on Wednesday. Governor John Carney visited Lavender Fields in Milton with Jessica Welch, the director of the Delaware Tourism Office, and Scott Thomas, the director of Southern Delaware Tourism.
The governor's office shared that Delaware welcomes more than 9 million visitors to the state every year. While many of them head to the beaches in the summer, tourism has begun to spread throughout the rest of the county, too.
"There are so many establishments now that when you work together, you have five or six things you can do in one day," said Marie Mayor, who owns Lavender Fields and has lived in Milton for 22 years. "I happen to be west of Route 1, so sometimes when the traffic is bad, they'll come over here for an afternoon rather than going to the beach everyday. We're an alternate source of enjoyment."
Lavender fields will host live music and celebrate the flowers in full bloom during an event on June 3.
In addition to simply providing more options for dining and things to do, tourism is a large industry in Delaware. The governor's office said it brings in $4 billion and supports around 47,000 jobs.
"We know that small businesses are the biggest driver of job creation in our state and have been for some time," said Carney. "We want to help cultivate entrepreneurs and they need places to do their businesses... those are important and we're trying to develop them across our state."
The governor mentioned the ongoing project in Seaford to convert the Nylon shopping center to create spaces for businesses to use in western Sussex County, as well as federal funding in the last few years to rework other spaces across the state.