Tourists shell out $15.2 billion in Washington in 2010, report says

Visitors to the Evergreen State spent an estimated $15.2 billion in 2010, according to the preliminary Travel Impacts Report released Tuesday by the Department of Commerce and Washington State Tourism

Visitors to the Evergreen State spent an estimated $15.2 billion in 2010, according to the preliminary Travel Impacts Report released Tuesday by the Department of Commerce and Washington State Tourism.

The annual study shows that visitor spending increased by 7.4 percent over 2009, making 2010 the second best year on record for visitor spending in the state, according to a department press release.

'This report shows that the travel industry in Washington is a significant contributor to our state's economy as it recovers from the recession of the past two years,' said Rogers Weed, Director of the Department of Commerce. 'Fueled by visitor spending, tourism supports jobs for Washingtonians, bolsters local economies and small business and contributes tax revenue for state and local governments.'

The tourism office is one agency scheduled for elimination due to budget constraints.

Data showing the impact of visitors spending in Pierce County in 2010 will be available in February, said Tammy Blount, president and CEO of the Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau.

Blount also cited a 2005 report showing that after Colorado dropped its funding of the state tourism agency in 1993, within two years the state 'lost one-third of its market share among U.S. tourists. This translated to lost annual visitor spending of $1.4 billion initially, growing to over $2 billion by the end of the decade.'

'They have never recovered,' Blount said.

Preliminary estimates in Tuesday's Department of Commerce report show a 5 percent increase in local and state tax revenues generated by travel spending in 2010, while sales tax receipts increased by less than one percent. The increased travel-related tax receipts were primarily the result of increased visitor volume rather than price increases. Hotel room rates, in particular, were virtually unchanged from 2009.

Prepared for the state by Dean Runyan Associates, the full Travel Impacts Report is available on Washington State Tourism's industry website, www.experiencewa.com/Industry.

Some key highlights of the report:

• Total employment directly generated by travel spending in the state was 143,800 in 2010, and travel spending generated $4.3 billion in earnings (payroll).

• In 2010, travel spending in Washington generated nearly $1 billion ($992 million) in local and state tax revenues. On a household level, visitors from outside Washington (residents of other states or countries) generated $240 of tax revenue for each Washington household and resident travel within the state generated an additional $145 of tax revenue per household.

•  There were an estimated 5.66 million domestic air passenger arrivals to Washington in 2010.

• International visitors accounted for $1.5 billion in visitor spending in 2010.

• Residents from other states accounted for $6.8 billion in visitor spending in Washington in 2010.

• Visitors who stayed overnight in commercial lodging (hotels, motels, resorts, and bed and breakfasts) spent $6.5 billion in 2010.