New Travel Impact Study Reveals Decreases In Tourism To Washington County, Oregon
May 13th, 2010 by WCVA
Upswing in Hotel Occupancy in 2010 Brings Renewed Optimism
BEAVERTON, Ore (May 11, 2010) – The effects of the worldwide recession have directly impacted the travel industry in general, and Washington County’s tourism industry was not immune in 2009. The year saw a significant decrease in travel spending by both leisure and business travelers.
According to the 2009 Washington County Travel Impacts Study, conducted by Dean Runyan Associates, a Portland-based economic and marketing research firm, travel spending in Washington County declined by an estimated 14.4 percent to $445 million, compared to $514.5 million in 2008. In 2009, tax revenue, industry-related employment and industry-related employment earnings also declined.
Despite the decreases, there are positive signs that the tourism industry is strengthening. Occupancy levels in Washington County for the first three months of 2010 were higher than the same period last year.
From January 1 through March 31, 2010, hotel occupancy increased more than 12.4 percent to 55.6 percent, compared to 49.4 percent in 2009, according to Smith Travel Research (STR), which tracks supply and demand data for the hotel industry.
“Washington County is seeing some of the strongest increases in occupancy levels in the region,” said Ruthie Reinert, president and chief executive officer for the Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA), which is the official destination marketing organization for Washington County. “We are cautiously optimistic that hotel room demand will continue to expand; therefore, bringing more revenue to Washington County.”
The following are preliminary findings of travel spending in Washington County in calendar year 2009:
|
Washington County Travel Impacts |
2009p |
2008** |
Change +/- |
|
Average expenditure per visitor/per day |
$122 |
$122 |
n/a |
|
Total direct visitor spending |
$444.5 million |
$519.4 million |
-14% |
|
Total tax revenues generated by travel spending |
$19.8 million |
$ 22.1 million |
-10% |
|
Total direct industry-related employment |
4,740 |
5,270 |
-10% |
|
Total direct industry-related employment earnings |
$113.8 million |
$124.3 million |
-10.5 |
**2008 statistics were revised from previous estimates. Current statistics supersede previous estimates.
Source: Dean Runyan Associates, April 2010
Travel impacts to Washington County and each city tracked are based upon distribution of room sales in the county, providing simple estimates of the broader travel impacts in the county.
The complete report is available as a PDF here
About the Washington County Visitors Association
The Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA) is an accredited destination marketing organization, which serves the region’s tourism industry by actively promoting Washington County, Oregon, to business and leisure travelers, sports and event planners, meeting planners and group tour operators as a desired travel destination. Washington County, which spans 27 square miles, is scenically situated between Portland and the Oregon Coast, and includes the growing communities of Banks, Beaverton, Cornelius, Durham, Forest Grove, Gaston, Hillsboro, King City, North Plains, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville. Washington County is home to world-class golf, award-winning wineries, an array of outdoor recreation and superb dining and shopping. Its thriving corporate business parks house some of the largest high-tech and industrial companies in the world.
Tags: washington county tourism
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