Use of the Information in Economic Impact Analyses

When estimating state or local economic impacts of particular events, facilities or subgroups of travelers, it is a good idea to compare the results with the overall tourism spending or impact estimates for an area. If an attraction is the principal generator of tourists to an area, the estimates of spending and impacts should approach the overall tourism impact estimates for the area. When examining some subset of tourism activity in an area, comparisons with the state or county tourism totals provides a rough estimate of the relative importance of the activity. Some states report average spending, party size, length of stay, or breakdowns of visitors by segments. These figures can often be used in specific applications. One must, of course, be careful that the statewide averages apply to a given application. If spending averages are not reported directly, they can be calculated if both a visit and spending total are reported.

Precautions

Be aware that statewide tourism estimates are not 100% accuracte. Statewide figures are usually based on national household surveys (e.g., D.K. Shifflet, Longwoods, and Travelscope) that will contain  sampling, measurement, nonresponse, and other errors. Samples for individual states will vary in size. Spending and economic impact estimates are generally obtained by applying spending averages to estimates of the volume of travel activity. In some cases the estimates are grounded in sales, income and employment figures for tourism-related sectors.  County-level estimates usually entail allocating statewide figures to counties using travel indicators or county economic data (such as hotel sales or room taxes). The county figures are generally less reliable than the state totals.

Also, be aware that different states and studies employ different methods and often define tourism in different ways. Estimates are often not directly comparable across states. Tourism defnitions may include all trips of 100 miles or more, of 50 miles or more, and may exclude certain trip categories (e.g. business travel). Spending may be restricted to the primary destination, may or may not include airfares, spending at home in preparation for a trip,  and durable goods. The Travel Industry Assoc. (TIA) includes imputed rents on seasonal homes and a pro-rated share of vehicle operating costs, while most other studies cover only out-of-pocket expenses while on trips.  The study methodology (generally available in the report appendix) should be carefully examined to help interpret the results and before applying them to a particular problem.

Table Explanation
Colored squares in the table indicate the kinds of data available for each state. 

- The red square indicates that the statewide economic impact report is available on the research website. Generally these reports provide detailed descriptions of visitor characteristics, travel behaviors and the economic impacts. Some states update their estimates annually while some reports date back to 1995.

- The blue square indicates that estimates are broken down to a county or regional level. The data are either accessible directly through the statewide report or are listed separately on the research website. County level information is most helpful in assessing the relative contribution of park visitors spending to local communities.

- The orange square signifies that indicators for tourism activity are available on the research website. Tourism indicators are data used to monitor tourism activity in the region. These may include lodging taxes, hotel occupancy rates, airport arrivals, highway traffic counts or visitation to particular parks or attractions. Travel indicators reported vary from state to state.

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State Tourism Organization	Tourism Research Website	Economic Impact Reporta	County information	Tourism Indicator
Alabama - Bureau of Tourism and Travel	Alabama Statistical Register
Alaska - Division of Tourism	Alaska Tourism Research
Arizona - Office of Tourism	Arizona Tourism Research
Arkansas - Department of Parks  and Tourism	Economic report
California - Division of Tourism	Dean Runyan & Associates
Colorado - Travel and Tourism Authority	Dean Runyan & Associates
Connecticut - Connecticut Tourism	Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis (CCEA)
Delaware - Office of Tourism	Delaware Tourism Development Office
Florida - Visit Florida, Inc.	Visit Florida Research
Georgia - Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism
Hawaii - Visitors and Convention Bureau	Hawaii Resource and Statistics Center
Idaho - Division of Tourism Development	Dean Runyan & Associates
Illinois - Bureau of Tourism	IllinoisFacts
Indiana - Department of Tourism	Indian Tourism Research
Iowa - Division of Tourism	Iowa Travel Industry
Kansas - Department of Commerce and Housing	Kansas Tourism Information
Kentucky - Department of Travel	Kentucky Tourism Development Cabinet
Louisiana - Office of Tourism	Louisiana Tourism Data Resources
Maine - Office of Tourism
Maryland - Office of Tourism Development	Maryland Tourism Research
Massachusetts - Office of Travel and Tourism	Massachusetts Tourism Research
Michigan - Travel Michigan	Michigan Tourism at Michigan State University
Minnesota - Office of Tourism	Minnesota Office of Tourism
Mississippi - Division of Tourist Development	Mississippi Economic Impact
Missouri - Division of Tourism	Missouri Economic Research and Information Center
Montana - Travel Montana	Montana Travel Industry Research
Nebraska - Division of Tourism	Nebraska Travel & Tourism Facts
Nevada - Commission on Tourism	Nevada Commission on Tourism
New Hampshire - Office of Travel and Tourism Development
New Jersey - Travel and Tourism	New Jersey Tourism Report
New Mexico - Department of Tourism	New Mexico Economic Indicator and Data Link
New York - Travel and Tourism
North Carolina - Travel and Tourism	North Carolina Travel & Tourism Division
North Dakota - Tourism	Dean Runyan & Associates
Ohio - Division of Travel and Tourism	Ohio Division of Travel & Tourism
Oklahoma - Tourism and Recreation Department	Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department
Oregon - Tourist Commission	Dean Runyan & Associates
Pennsylvania - Travel and Tourism	Department of Community and Economic Development (Tourism division)
Rhode Island - Tourism Division	Office of Travel, Tourism, and Recreation, U of Rhode Island
South Carolina - Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism	South Carolina Tourism Statistics
South Dakota - Department of Tourism	South Dakota Tourism Research
Tennessee - Department of Tourist Development	Tennessee Tourism Research
Texas - Tourism Division	Texas Tourism Division , Dean Runyan & Associates
Utah - Travel Council	Utah Division of Travel Development
Vermont - Department of Tourism and Marketing	Vermont Tourism Data Center
Virginia - Division of Tourism	Virginia Tourism Research
Washington - Tourism Division	Washington State Tourism Research
West Virginia - Division of Tourism	West Virginia Division of Tourism
Wisconsin - Department of Tourism	Wisconsin Tourism Research
Wyoming - Division of Tourism	Dean Runyan & Associates
Washington DC  - Convention and Tourism Corporation	Washington, DC Publications

 

 Last Update: April 25, 2002