Independent findings by Dean Runyan Associates indicate that travel-related spending throughout the state increased by $500 million (up 4.2%) over last year, reaching a record $12.3 billion. The number of Oregonians directly employed in the industry rose to 115,400, a 2.9% increase over the prior year.
What better way to ring in this news? An industry-wide celebration! We invite you to join us and the U.S. Travel Association in leveraging National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW), May 5-11.
This year’s theme, Travel Matters, recognizes that travel enriches and strengthens local communities. With the “Travel Matters” theme in mind, we produced a video featuring members of our tourism industry who shared why travel matters to their community or business.
Here’s how you can celebrate NTTW and spread the word in your community:
- Utilize the Travel Oregon NTTW Toolkit including resources from USTA’s NTTW Toolkit
- Share the “Travel Matters” video on your channels
- Share your regional/county economic impact numbers with your local policymakers to help champion the value of tourism in your community
The new report confirms the economic significance of the travel industry in Oregon and highlights the following key findings:
- Visitors to Oregon generated $12.3 billion in revenue for the state in 2018. This represents a 4.2% increase in spending compared to the previous year and marked the ninth straight year of growth.
- Last year, hotel room revenue throughout the state increased by 4.4%.
- Domestic visitor air arrivals to Oregon increased by 5.1% over the previous year.
- The travel industry added more than 3,200 new jobs in 2018, a 2.9% increase over the prior year, bringing total statewide travel industry jobs to 115,400.
- In 2018, the travel and tourism industry generated $560 million in state and local taxes, an increase of 3.9% over the previous year.
- Secondary impacts from the re-spending of travel-generated revenues by businesses and employees were equivalent to 59,960 jobs in 2017, with earnings of $3.1 billion.
- The travel industry’s gross domestic product was $5.5 billion in 2018.
- The travel industry is one of the top three export-oriented industries in 31 of 36 Oregon counties.
“Travel Oregon’s vision is a better life for all Oregonians through strong, sustainable local economies, said Todd Davidson, Travel Oregon CEO. “Everything we do at Travel Oregon, from product development to destination marketing to regional investments in tourism and our matching grants program, supports this vision. This report affirms that we are on the right track, so we will continue our work to enhance economic vitality and community livability in every corner of the state.”
If you have questions about the video or the NTTW campaign, contact industry@traveloregon.com.