Whether it’s enjoying a meal in Downtown Plymouth, teeing off at Swan Lake Resort, boating on Lake Maxinkuckee, experiencing Rentown, or traveling the Marshall County Barn Quilt Trail, tourism is a large, growing business in Marshall County as a recent study reports.
The new Marshall County economic impact report conducted by Certec Inc., an independent market research and consulting company, determined visitors spent $154.9 million in 2017, 18.1% increase from 2015, resulting in $110.9 million in direct economic impact that supported 1,752 jobs. In 2017 statewide, tourism supports more than 242,000 jobs, contributes $12.2 billion in revenue to Indiana businesses and tourism is the largest service industry in the state, excluding government. Tourism supports small business, improves quality of life, and enhances local economy.
Some other key Marshall County tourism facts and figures at a glance, according to the study:
• Of the tourism dollars spent, food & beverages accounted for 35 percent followed closely by shopping at 25 percent, lodging at 9 percent and attractions at 10 percent.
• Visitors generated $36.4 million in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2017 compared to $29.7 million in 2015.
• Tourism generated jobs provided nearly $29.9 million in wages to Marshall County workers.
• Residents of Marshall County spent an additional $16.4 million with the local tourism industry. This direct spending created 203 jobs.
• Destination travelers to Marshall County totaled over 1,014,544 thousand persons in 2017 compared to 820,640 in 2015 – a growth of 11.8 percent. In addition, over 464,632 pass-through travelers visited the county compared to 460,032 in 2015.
The study was commissioned by Marshall County Tourism and conducted by Certec Inc., which specializes in economic impact and feasibility studies for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. The methodology used by the study is based on information collected directly from tourists and tourism businesses (bottom-up measurement) as opposed to a procedure that relies on the extraction of information from business data that was initially collected for the purpose other than the analysis of the tourism industry (top-down measurement). For more information contact Marshall County Tourism at 800-626-5353 or visit our website at www.visitmarshallcounty.org.
The Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau or Marshall County Tourism mission is to conduct marketing and sales programs to attract visitors to Marshall County and enhance our area’s image so the county can derive the economic and social benefits of a prosperous tourism industry. Find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/VisitMarshallCounty and become a fan for updates and reminders, contest info and much more.
You can also follow us on Twitter @VisitMarshallco. For more information, visit our website atVisitMarshallCounty.org or call (574) 936-1882.
