Sandusky County ranks fourth in state for tourism sales growth
Submitted by SANDUSKY COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
FREMONT – The Sandusky County Convention & Visitors Bureau recently received data detailing the economic impact of tourism in Sandusky County for 2017. According to a recent study conducted by Tourism Economics, one of the world’s leading economic analysts, visitors to Sandusky County helped generate $167.5 million in tourism sales in 2017, an increase of 15.8 percent from the 2015 study. This makes Sandusky County fourth in the state in tourism sales growth. Both the statewide and Northwest Ohio’s tourism sales growth increased by 3.5 percent.
Tourism sales start with actual spending (direct) but also includes the downstream effects (indirect and induced) that this spending has on the local economy. The main contributing economic activities represented in these numbers include food and beverage, retail, recreation, transportation and lodging.
Wages in Sandusky County attributed to tourism were $42.1 million, up 16.7 percent from the 2015 data. Employment related to tourism is at 2,310 jobs, up 14.4 percent. Tourism supports 1 in every 13 jobs within Sandusky County.
In 2017, tourism within the county also generated $20.8 million in local taxes. Tax dollars generated through tourism helps support many of the municipal services that county residents count on. In the absence of state and local taxes generated by tourism, each family in Ohio would have to pay an additional $725 annually in taxes to maintain the current level of government services.
“Visitor spending and employment figures are essential factors to consider when evaluating the importance of travel and tourism to Sandusky County’s economy,” said Peggy Courtney, Sandusky County Convention & Visitors Bureau executive director. “As you can see by these tourism stats, Sandusky County has experienced significant growth due to the impact of tourism. Tourism has a very real influence on the economy in our county and positively benefits all business segments and residents of our region.”
The data collected in this study was a joint effort between TourismOhio and Tourism Economics, a division of Oxford Economics.
In other news, the Sandusky County Convention and Visitors Bureau recently completed its biennial Agreed Upon Procedures through the Ohio State Auditor’s Office and it concluded with no findings.
For additional information on the Sandusky County Convention & Visitors Bureau, go to sanduskycounty.org, Facebook or Twitter.
