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Ohio Tourism Industry Rebounds in 2010

From Deanna York, Director
Darke County Visitors Bureau
www.visitdarkecounty.org
“Discover Our Legends”

The Ohio Tourism Division is thrilled to announce Ohio’s tourism economy grew by 7 percent in 2010 and generated $38 billion in total sales, up from $36 billion in 2009, according to research conducted on behalf of the Ohio Tourism Division.

This growth in sales helped increase tourism employment to 439,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs with an associated income of $10 billion, an increase of 2,000 jobs over 2009.

“About 1 in every 11 jobs or 8.7 percent of Ohio’s jobs in 2010 were sustained by Ohio’s tourism industry,” said Amir Eylon, State Tourism Director. “Tourism is a resilient industry with the ability to quickly add new jobs to meet increased demand, which puts it at the forefront of economic recovery.”

Tourism last year generated $2.6 billion in taxes for Ohio - $1.5 billion in state taxes and $1.1 billion in local taxes.

“These results demonstrate the strength of Ohio’s tourism industry and reinforce this industry as an economic driver for our state,” said James A. Leftwich, Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “We are pleased that travelers continue to take advantage of our state’s resources and experience Ohio.”

Total visitation to and within Ohio grew to nearly 179 million visits in 2010, up 4 percent from an estimated 171 million visits in 2009. About 35 million of those visits in 2010 included an overnight stay in Ohio, an increase of 4 percent from 2009.

“While only about 20 percent of Ohio’s visitation includes an overnight stay, it accounts for 40 percent of our total visitor spending, and Ohio’s 2010 overnight visitor spending grew by 8.8 percent,” Eylon said. “This is a good indicator that Ohio tourism is rebounding and represents very good news for our industry since Ohio’s average overnight visitor (especially from out of state) outspends day travelers by two and a half to one.”


 
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