LANESBORO, Minn. (KTTC) – Senator Amy Klobuchar was in Lanesboro Saturday morning to discuss the importance of tourism in the city.

Klobuchar met with local elected officials and business leaders and talked about how to improve tourism in Lanesboro. She said they're working on policies to promote tourism, as well as bring tourists in from all over the country and the world.

"The small towns are really fun for people to visit. People get kind of tired of being in the big cities all the time, and we wanna make sure they know what's available," said Sen. Klobuchar. "And that means making sure we have internet service, something we're working hard on in this area of the state. It also means good roads and bike trails, and then it means that you have access to culture."

Tourism is the fifth largest industry in Minnesota -- it generates $14 billion in sales and accounts for nearly 11% of the state's local private sector employment.

Klobuchar led efforts to promote tourism as chair of the bipartisan Tourism Caucus. She also led the bipartisan effort to successfully reauthorize the Travel Promotion Act in 2014, so that it can continue to build on its progress through 2020.