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 in 19 Indiana workers has a job because of Tourism.
Indiana visitors generate enough state and local taxes to pay for 26,000 public school teachers.
Having grown 1.4%, the tourism industry was the largest service industry in the Indiana economy in 2017.
Each Indiana visitor spent an average of $158 locally on transportation, hotel, food and beverage, shopping and entertainment.

Tourism-initiated state & local taxes increased 3.7% vs. 2016, while all state & local taxes rose just 1.7%.
If visitors stopped coming to Indiana, each of its 2.5 million households would have to pay an additional $561 in state & local taxes in order to maintain current levels of tax receipts.
Indiana was able to retain about 72¢ of every $1 spent by visitors.

2018 Economic Impact of Tourism in Indiana

Indiana destinations welcomed a record 80 million visitors (A 1.3% increase over the previous year.)

Indiana hosted 415,000 trips from international visitors. 31.2 million of the total visitors stayed overnight leading to a 5% increase in Innkeepers tax collection.

Visitors spent a record ^$12.7 billion in Indiana, an 3.7% increase YoY. $3.5 billion in food & drink, $2.8 billion in shopping, $2.2 billion in entertainment and recreation, $2.1 billion in lodging, $2 billion in transportation, < $1 billion in other areas

Tourism is responsible for 5% of all Indiana jobs. 1 in 19 Indiana Workers has a job because of Tourism.

72^¢ of every ^$1 spent by visitors stays in Indiana. This contributes $9.8 billion to Indiana’s Gross Domestic Product.

Tourism saves Hoosiers money by saving an average of ^$561 in state and local taxes per household

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