It’s National Travel and Tourism Week, a time to celebrate a healthy, vibrant sector of Butler County’s economy that none of us should take for granted.

On Wednesday, Saxonburg, Butler County Chamber of Commerce and the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau hosted a delegation from that town’s sister city of Mühlhausen, Germany. Mühlhausen’s lord mayor, his wife and others were treated to a progressive dinner and other red-carpet amenities. Good job, Saxonburg. Good show, Butler County.

Thursday, the Tourism & Convention Bureau conducted its annual Toast to Tourism at Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry Township.

Each year, the tourism bureau hosts this unique event and dinner reception to honor the companies, businesses and individuals that enhance Butler County’s tourism industry.

Each year, the bureau awards grants to organizations through Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau’s Grant Awards Program to move forward with various projects that will enrich the Butler County visitor’s experience. There were 14 grants awarded Thursday.

Also each year, the bureau recognizes an individual as the Ambassador of the Year for their extraordinary contributions to Butler County’s tourism industry; and it awards scholarships to three local college students.

The ceremony could be seen simply as a recognition of people and efforts promoting the tourist trade. It’s not only a recognition of the promotion and the promoters, but the event itself is a promotion of the tourist effort in Butler County.

But there’s an additional dimension going on as well.

Think of Toast to Tourism as an agricultural gesture, a spring planting.

Somewhere in the Bible we’re told that whatever we sow, we can expect to harvest. In this case, the Tourism and Convention Bureau is generously seeding thousands of tourism dollars into future coming tourism seasons — in unfinished projects and education. There is an implied expectation that these dollars invested in the future will come back, multiplied.

The analogy does not stop there. The dollars alone do not guarantee a successful, growing tourist market. It’s the attitude of the tillers and the tenders who ensure the bounty of this harvest.

With this thought in mind, it’s exciting to witness a strengthening bond between Mühlhausen and Saxonburg — and to see it facilitated recently by direct Pittsburgh-to-London airline service.

The time to cultivate such bonds is right now. Plant your garden in the sunny springtime. Make an attraction out of it. Be merry, not contrary, and watch how your tourism grows.