Savannah visitors spending more money, staying in town longer
Temperatures aren't the only thing breaking records in Savannah, according to the annual Visit Savannah Tourism Study, visitors to the area increased by just over two percent to 13.7 million in 2015 and visitor spending surged seven percent from $2.5 billion in 2014 to $2.67 billion last year.
'We're really pleased to see the spending amount go up,' said Visit Savannah president Joe Marinelli.
Tourism numbers are also growing across the state with about 102.4 million people visiting Georgia in 2015, which is an increase of 3.7 percent. Visitor spending in Georgia generated $58.9 billion in business sales including direct, indirect and induced impact in 2015, up three percent, according to the U.S. Travel Association and Tourism Economics.
Day trips to Savannah and Tybee Island accounted for 5.9 million visitors and overnight trips brought in 7.8 million people, who are also extending their trips to the Low Country, with the average length of stay increasing from 2.3 nights to 2.7.
'We didn't get an extra nights stay out of it, but there's probably an additional meal or two built into that or there's the opportunity for another tour or trolley ride or experiencing another museum,' Marinelli said of the increase.
He equates the increase in length of stays to better promoting Savannah's proximity to Tybee Island and new destinations and attractions, including the Tanger Outlets and Moon River District, which includes the Pin Point Heritage Museum, Isle of Hope and Wormsloe Historic Site.
'As our visitors get younger, they're more interested in neighborhoods,' he said.
Retail and shopping also continue to be an interest for both overnight and day trippers, consistently ranking high on the list of activities for travelers. Those staying overnight spent about $302 million on retail, third behind lodging at $917 million and food and beverages at $493 million.
Day trippers spent the bulk of their money, $206 million, on food and beverage and retail, $158 million. Marinelli said with the recent growth on Broughton Street and in Pooler, there has really been an emphasis on Savannah's retail sector, although it's not primary reason people visit, it's what they do while they're here.
'I don't think people come here to shop, but when they get here, when you think about Brougton Street, City Market, River Street and the Tanger Outlets, it does make sense that it's the main thing they do here,' he said.
'I'm pleased to see shopping stay up there on the list.'
While most visitors continue to come from the Atlanta area, five Florida cities ranked among the top 12 cities of origin for overnight travelers.
'We're working really hard with Jet Blue to convince them to add Ft. Lauderdale service,' Marninelli said, adding that the organization has been tracking Florida visitors after each major festival or event held here.
'We see a trend of more people coming out of Florida to activities happening here in town...'
In terms of when they visited, both overnight and day travelers stayed consistent throughout the year with a slight increase for day travelers January through March, which can be attributed to the St. Patrick's Day festival.
'(The balance) is especially critical when you think about jobs, small businesses, shops and restaurants have the ability to keep people employed all year long. It's good in the summer time, it's good heading into the holiday season,' he said.
The hospitality and tourism industry provides nearly 26,000 jobs locally and employs about 439,000 Georgians statewide, which is just over 10 percent of all non-farm jobs in the state.
The short-term rental market is also making an impact on visitors, ranking fourth on the list of the top accommodations behind hotels and motels, staying with friends or relatives and bed and breakfast lodging. Seven percent of visitors stayed in a rented home, condo or apartment, which beats the national average by three percent.
'Three years ago, rented homes didn't even appear on the list and last year it was down to about one to two percent (of visitors). Short term rentals are making a difference here,' he said.
Earlier this year, customers of Airbnb, one of the leading short-term rental marketplaces in the world ranked Savannah as the number one wish listed domestic destination and the third international wish listed destination. And with thousands of short-term rentals between Savannah and Tybee Island, Marinelli said they're here to stay.
'That's a pretty huge hotel if you combine those rooms... There are some really terrific short term-rental products here in the Historic District,' he said.
'I think the City of Savannah has done a very good job becoming students of how to better work with that part of the industry. The great concern in the early days was, will those companies pay their fair share of hotel/motel tax and the reality is that they want to play by the rules...'
Heading into the summer months things look strong for the tourism sector although some businesses have reported slower growth, Marinelli said that's to be expected after the rapid growth the area has experienced in the last few years.
'May was a little softer than we expected, but June has been stronger than we expected. 2014 and 2015 were so strong and we saw such terrific growth levels and this year people are not seeing the same growth level. It's difficult to always set an all time high,' he said.
'If last year was the best year ever and we're similar to last year or a tad below now, it doesn't mean we're doing poorly.'
Tourism by the numbers
Year Visitors Length of stay Spending
2011 12.1M 2.5 days $1.94B
2012 12.4M 2.3 days $2.1B
2013 13M 2.4 days $2.29B
2014 13.4M 2.3 days $2.5B
2015 13.7M 2.7 days $2.67B
Top cities of origin
Atlanta, Ga : 19 percent
Orlando, Daytona, Melbourne, FL : 8 percent
New York, NY : 6 percent
Jacksonville, FL : 5 percent
Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl : 4 percent
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