By Jacie Shoaf
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Tourism and travel is the state’s sixth largest industry, not including government, according to a new economic impact report released Wednesday by Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.
The industry maintains nearly 140,000 jobs and contributes $10 billion in revenue to Indiana businesses, the report said.
“This economic impact study confirms the fact that the travel, tourism and hospitality industry is a crucial segment of the Indiana economy,†Ellspermann said. “My office is committed to promoting Indiana tourism and providing support to our partners in the industry.â€
The study reveals that in 2012, the travel, tourism and hospitality industry constituted roughly 1.5 percent of Indiana’s total gross domestic product, 4.8 percent of total jobs and 6.3 percent of state and local tax receipts.
The study took into account Super Bowl XLVI, which was responsible for roughly half of the industry’s 5.2 percent growth in 2012.
In addition, the study finds that tourism pays direct wages of more than $3 billion to full and part-time industry employees and that Indiana retains approximately 76 percent of each dollar spent by visitors.
Furthermore, 40 Indiana counties chose to invest in a research cooperative that provided them county-specific reports to document the impact of tourism at the local level.
The study, which defines tourism as an overnight stay or a trip greater than 50 miles each way that is not part of an individual’s normal routine, is the first study of its kind to be produced in eight years. It will help measure future developments in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.
“This report illustrates the economic benefit Indiana derives from tourism and is the first such report in some time,†said Mark Newman, the tourism department’s executive director. “It serves as a necessary benchmark to begin measuring the growth or decline of tourism as an economic driver for the state on a more regular basis.â€
The study was commissioned by tourism officials and conducted by Rockport Analytics, with managing director and chief economist Ken McGill acting as head of the research team. Rockport Analytics is an independent market research and consulting company that specializes in various studies for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.
“Our research shows Indiana earns a significant positive return from a minimal investment in the tourism industry,†McGill said. “The data demonstrates that Indiana has the potential to develop even greater economic development returns through a robust tourism economy.â€
The study used data on Indiana visitor spending derived from multiple sources, including Longwoods International, Reach Market Planning and U.S. Office of Travel & Tourism Industries. The data was reconciled with information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics the Indiana Department of Revenue regarding employment and tax receipts, as well as secondary sources such as Smith Travel Research.
Jacie Shoaf is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Evansville is back in the convention game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_92ZwKLlWg
Ohhhhhhhh My God!!
This looks like those fast food photos/commericals that looks delicious on film but when you get in the store your sandwich looks and tastes like….. well you know
Where…. in… the HELL did they get that shot of the Casino?? The Casino I know has cigarette so thick it would choke a horse even on the NON-SMOKING floor.
I want to live in the city portrayed in this video, but it ain’t Evansville.
Brains:
Somehow the people in the convention add,seemed like the same ones I observed in the flash mob thingy they put on awhile back. Or maybe in a public meeting in a certain ward type hotel meeting I attended with ole cousin,Spud.
Hopefully they didn’t use us in some promotional,we might have looked a bit on the skeptical side during those presentations. Figured that one out a couple of weeks after the attended meeting I was at.
I do have what some refer too as a photographic memory, when I watched a later report at a different location the very same people were in the crowd,observed them in the citizen gallery during the common council meetings as well. Obvious stuff,to a person who takes in the whole picture as offered.
Wonder how the place would sell,if the add was a scratch and sniff?
The casino is a persons choice,and personally I make the choice not to be in the second hand smoke anytime. Where that gets a bit sticky is one can’t make that choice everywhere else in your town without breaking an stupid ordinance or something,dang,thats just wrong,freedom is heavy on choice as far as I’m concerned.
Hope they don’t throw all in with they’er whole load on convention tourism,thats a pretty solid national trending as a jurassic business concept today. Communications networks are relative to the little mammals running around living on the crumbs.
Just doesn’t take something on a large scale to keep them thriving,and when that happens as the little fellas evolve and multiply. The big fellas and their footprints become bygone era fossils.
sorry brains…..to live in a city portrayed in that video take some advice from Mr.Sinatra fly away………..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wa0c8CD1Jw
LOL!! Thanks!
Why Is The ECVB & Tourism Industry Failing In Evansville?
– The LST, which is basically in Kentucky, hasn’t been moved to a proper location (ideally the Port of Evansville) where it could be surrounded by adequate amenities. Currently, cheap cigarettes just down the road from a sewage and water plant dominate the landscape.
– The ball fields project has been a complete failure despite the fact that one shovel hasn’t been turned. When telling us the ECVB just had to have the Roberts lot, we were given the reason that ball field tourists want an urban location, yet in the end a location deep in Vanderburgh County was chosen over a lot right across from Bosse Field & Don Mattingly Way and already has 3 fields. I suppose there’s a reason why no general public sessions were held for this project.
– Failure to maintain a mid-sized arena. This has resulted in div II tournaments and Aces regular season games that draw flies being held while Icemen games are sent on the road. There has also been zero indoor soccer tournaments, indoor football games, and large trade shows like the boat show held in the FC. As a result, Evansville has cannibalized its own sporting events that are designed to put heads in beds. This is the direct result of political personalities in politically charged groups making these decisions instead of arena operators and sports industry professionals.
– Failure to construct tourist amenities downtown. Evansville is like STL before the arch. There is very little reason for a tourist to make the trek to Evansville. The Reitz Home and Tropicana are good assets to have but their newness has long since worn off while the city has failed to build off of their momentum.
Basically, there is little, if any, reason to think the city of Evansville is capable of making significant strides to attract tourists. When given the opportunity to make huge and significant improvements in local amenities they have failed every single time.
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