Area Tourism Numbers Down Due To Pandemic
March 30, 2021 at 10:14 p.m.
Area Tourism Numbers Down Due To Pandemic
By Amanda Bridgman-
KCCVB CEO Jill Boggs and KCCVB Board Chair Doug Haines provided the update.
Boggs said the role of KCCVB is to be a destination marketing organization responsible for promoting Kosciusko County as an attractive travel destination and to enhance the county’s public image.
She said in 2019, the tourism and travel industry contributed $200 million to Kosciusko County’s economy, compared to $184.5 million in 2017.
Also shown from 2019 data was that 2,161 jobs in the county were generated by the tourism industry, providing $39.8 million in wages. Visitor spending broke down to 34% on food and beverage, 23% in attractions, 17% in lodging, 16% in shopping, 7% in travel and 3% in souvenirs.
The tourism industry generated over $47.1 million in tax revenues with $9.3 million locally, and residents contributed an additional $21.2 million to the local tourism industry and generated 254 jobs.
Boggs said every two years economic impact research is conducted, which provides local visitor bureaus a benchmark for the local health of the travel industry.
“So when we did it for 2019, the research is in 2020 is when they’re pulling that data and talking to people for 2019, so technically it’s very conservative numbers ... because there wasn’t a lot of places to go in 2020 to get that data, so we know we’re over 200, we know the jobs are more, we know that the percentage breakdown, those are higher, the taxes are higher,” she said.
Boggs is feeling optimistic despite a year shut down by COVID.
“Travel remains optimistic because we know and truly believe we have a dynamic destination that is worthy of travel,” she said.
However, it’s not all sunshine for some travel industries, including the county’s hotels.
“Hotel occupancy rate for those (hotels), that report was down at the end of 2020 by nearly 40% compared to our end of year 2019 due to the pandemic,” Boggs said.
Total revenue was down roughly 6%, she said.
Right now, thanks to a grant KCCVB received through Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office and being able to qualify for the Payroll Protection Program, Boggs said they are well-positioned to focus on strategic marketing and content creation.
“We are focusing hard to create a digital 2021-22 visitor’s guide with videos ... and that will allow us to update content within 48 hours to keep our information fresh and accurate,” Boggs said.
Haines said two years ago, KCCVB had the number one visitor’s guide in the state and last year had the number one website in the state.
He touted Boggs’ work forming relationships with people around the community and outside of the community with keeping the local visitor’s bureau at the top of the list.
Another thing KCCVB is participating in a state marketing campaign through Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC).
“(IDDC) is the new government office that’s over state tourism, but their whole mission is in the marketing and promotions and development to drive new residents, new talent and visitors to the state because of the economic impact that all of that brings to us,” Boggs said.
An example of that is the new campaign called “Hoosiers by Choice,” where local visitor bureaus can create videos of people in their communities who are not from Indiana, but came and chose to make Indiana their home.
The state website, www.HoosiersByChoice.com, releases the local videos. KCCVB submitted videos for local residents Marlene Betances, Mark Schindel and Ceri Myers. The videos share their stories about how they came to Indiana and what they do now. So far, Betances’ video has been featured.
The KCCVB is at 111 Capital Drive, Warsaw, and is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
To learn more about what KCCVB offers, or how you can get involved, call 574-269-6090 or email [email protected].
“There’s so much we do that people don’t realize and our marketing a lot of residents don’t see, because I’m focused 500 miles out from the county,” Boggs said. “You may not see the advertisement in a USA Today but I’m trying to reach those people that do just because they want to travel, so a lot of it you don’t see. We have to work within our budget, but we’re doing good though.”
KCCVB CEO Jill Boggs and KCCVB Board Chair Doug Haines provided the update.
Boggs said the role of KCCVB is to be a destination marketing organization responsible for promoting Kosciusko County as an attractive travel destination and to enhance the county’s public image.
She said in 2019, the tourism and travel industry contributed $200 million to Kosciusko County’s economy, compared to $184.5 million in 2017.
Also shown from 2019 data was that 2,161 jobs in the county were generated by the tourism industry, providing $39.8 million in wages. Visitor spending broke down to 34% on food and beverage, 23% in attractions, 17% in lodging, 16% in shopping, 7% in travel and 3% in souvenirs.
The tourism industry generated over $47.1 million in tax revenues with $9.3 million locally, and residents contributed an additional $21.2 million to the local tourism industry and generated 254 jobs.
Boggs said every two years economic impact research is conducted, which provides local visitor bureaus a benchmark for the local health of the travel industry.
“So when we did it for 2019, the research is in 2020 is when they’re pulling that data and talking to people for 2019, so technically it’s very conservative numbers ... because there wasn’t a lot of places to go in 2020 to get that data, so we know we’re over 200, we know the jobs are more, we know that the percentage breakdown, those are higher, the taxes are higher,” she said.
Boggs is feeling optimistic despite a year shut down by COVID.
“Travel remains optimistic because we know and truly believe we have a dynamic destination that is worthy of travel,” she said.
However, it’s not all sunshine for some travel industries, including the county’s hotels.
“Hotel occupancy rate for those (hotels), that report was down at the end of 2020 by nearly 40% compared to our end of year 2019 due to the pandemic,” Boggs said.
Total revenue was down roughly 6%, she said.
Right now, thanks to a grant KCCVB received through Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office and being able to qualify for the Payroll Protection Program, Boggs said they are well-positioned to focus on strategic marketing and content creation.
“We are focusing hard to create a digital 2021-22 visitor’s guide with videos ... and that will allow us to update content within 48 hours to keep our information fresh and accurate,” Boggs said.
Haines said two years ago, KCCVB had the number one visitor’s guide in the state and last year had the number one website in the state.
He touted Boggs’ work forming relationships with people around the community and outside of the community with keeping the local visitor’s bureau at the top of the list.
Another thing KCCVB is participating in a state marketing campaign through Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC).
“(IDDC) is the new government office that’s over state tourism, but their whole mission is in the marketing and promotions and development to drive new residents, new talent and visitors to the state because of the economic impact that all of that brings to us,” Boggs said.
An example of that is the new campaign called “Hoosiers by Choice,” where local visitor bureaus can create videos of people in their communities who are not from Indiana, but came and chose to make Indiana their home.
The state website, www.HoosiersByChoice.com, releases the local videos. KCCVB submitted videos for local residents Marlene Betances, Mark Schindel and Ceri Myers. The videos share their stories about how they came to Indiana and what they do now. So far, Betances’ video has been featured.
The KCCVB is at 111 Capital Drive, Warsaw, and is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
To learn more about what KCCVB offers, or how you can get involved, call 574-269-6090 or email [email protected].
“There’s so much we do that people don’t realize and our marketing a lot of residents don’t see, because I’m focused 500 miles out from the county,” Boggs said. “You may not see the advertisement in a USA Today but I’m trying to reach those people that do just because they want to travel, so a lot of it you don’t see. We have to work within our budget, but we’re doing good though.”
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