News & Resources for the Indiana Tourism Industry

Tourism's Economic Benefit

There's no denying that tourism matters in Indiana! Visitor spending brings cash to our communities, creating jobs, enhancing the local economy and improving the quality of life for residents. At the same time, travel and tourism heighten cultural awareness, help create a sense of place for a community and can provide shared experiences to connect friends and families across generations. After all, a community cannot be a great place to visit if it's not first a great place to live.

Click here to see the National Restaurant Association’s new infographic on job security and workforce development.

Click here to see the tourism advocacy videos produced by the Indiana Tourism Association.

 

Fast Facts

  1. 1 in 23 Indiana workers has a job because of Tourism.
  2. Indiana visitors generate enough state and local taxes to pay for 28,530 public school teachers.
  3. The Indiana tourism industry directly supported 152,600 jobs in 2018, an increase of 2% compared to 2017.
  4. Each Indiana visitor spent an average of $163 locally on transportation, hotel, food and beverage, shopping and entertainment.
  1. Tourism-initiated state & local taxes increased 3.9% vs. 2017.
  2. If visitors stopped coming to Indiana, each of its 2.5 million households would have to pay an additional $566 in state & local taxes in order to maintain current levels of tax receipts.
  3. Indiana was able to retain about 71ยข of every $1 spent by visitors.

2019 Economic Impact of Tourism in Indiana

Indiana destinations welcomed a record 81 million visitors (A 1.3% increase over the previous year.)

Indiana hosted 457,000 trips from international visitors. 31.6 million of the total visitors stayed overnight leading to a 3% increase in Innkeepers tax collection.

Visitors spent a record $13.2 billion in Indiana, up 4.2% over previous year. $3.7 billion in food & drink, $2.9 billion in shopping, $2.3 billion in entertainment and recreation, $2.1 billion in lodging, $2.1 billion in transportation, < $1 billion in other areas

Tourism is responsible for 5% OF ALL INDIANA JOBS.

71¢ of every $1 spent by visitors stays in Indiana. This contributes $9.3 billion to Indiana’s Gross State Product.

Tourism saves Hoosiers money by saving an average of $566 in state and local taxes per household

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