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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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