THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608220349
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 123 lines
American travelers spent nearly $10 billion in Virginia in 1994, placing Virginia among the top 10 U.S. tourism states, according to a new study.
Virginia not only made the Travel Industry Association of America list, but was one of just four states in the top 10 that increased its market share of the tourism dollar. Smaller states, like Mississippi and Louisiana, are siphoning some of the dollars away from heavy hitters such as California and Florida.
``This supports what we've been saying all along,'' said Mark Brown, research director for the Virginia Tourism Corp. ``The competition is getting stiffer out there.
``The smaller states are picking up more of the travelers' spending at the expense of the larger states.''
The four top states lost some of their market share, Brown said.
Virginia's tourism revenues increased 5.8 percent from $9.1 billion in 1993 to $9.5 billion in 1994. The national average increase was 5.1 percent.
According to the study, ``1994 Impact of Travel on the State Economies'' conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Travel Data Center, Virginia ranked 10th in travel expenditures, which directly generated 162,000 jobs in the state.
The other top states, in descending order, are California, Florida, Texas, New York, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
In 1993, Georgia eked out Virginia for ninth place and held onto that position in 1994, said Shawn Flaherty, spokesperson for the national travel association which is based in Washington.
``We're getting better, but the competition is getting better as well,'' Brown said.
``We're going to have to be better funded and more sophisticated'' to hold onto a top 10 berth, he added.
Virginia is somewhat at a disadvantage because some of its most popular tourism destinations - the Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park and the national battlefields - are free or owned by the federal government and therefore do not market themselves. Instead, the state incorporates them in its own marketing.
Virginia is second only to California in visits to federal properties and national parks, Brown said.
``One of the things we feel good about is that we have a lot of these properties compared to others in the top 10 and we're still ranked 10th,'' Brown said.
The association's study examines the economic impact of travel in terms of revenues, jobs, payroll and tax generation by Americans. International tourism dollars were not included in the study.
In total, American travelers spent $340 billion in 1994. The spending makes travel and tourism the nation's third-largest retail industry (behind food stores and automobile dealers) and the second-largest employer (next to health care).
The top five states with the greatest gains in domestic travel expenditures are: Mississippi (up 18.3 percent to $3 billion); Louisiana (up 14.5 percent to $5.6 billion); Nevada (up 12.5 percent to $14.5 billion); Maryland (up 10.1 percent to $5.4 billion); and North Carolina (up 7.8 percent to $8.5 billion).
Tourists from other countries spent $77 billion in the United States in 1994.
Travel and tourism, both domestic and international, represents 5.7 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.
American travelers spent nearly $10 billion in Virginia in 1994, placing Virginia among the top 10 U.S. tourism states, according to a new study.
Virginia not only made the Travel Industry Association of America list, but was one of just four states in the top 10 that increased its market share of the tourism dollar. Smaller states, like Mississippi and Louisiana, are siphoning some of the dollars away from heavy hitters such as California and Florida.
``This supports what we've been saying all along,'' said Mark Brown, research director for the Virginia Tourism Corp. ``The competition is getting stiffer out there.
``The smaller states are picking up more of the travelers' spending at the expense of the larger states.''
The four top states lost some of their market share, Brown said.
Virginia's tourism revenues increased 5.8 percent from $9.1 billion in 1993 to $9.5 billion in 1994. The national average increase was 5.1 percent.
According to the study, ``1994 Impact of Travel on the State Economies'' conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Travel Data Center, Virginia ranked 10th in travel expenditures, which directly generated 162,000 jobs in the state.
The other top states, in descending order, are California, Florida, Texas, New York, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
In 1993, Georgia eked out Virginia for ninth place and held onto that position in 1994, said Shawn Flaherty, spokesperson for the national travel association which is based in Washington.
``We're getting better, but the competition is getting better as well,'' Brown said.
``We're going to have to be better funded and more sophisticated'' to hold onto a top 10 berth, he added.
Virginia is somewhat at a disadvantage because some of its most popular tourism destinations - the Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park and the national battlefields - are free or owned by the federal government and therefore do not market themselves. Instead, the state incorporates them in its own marketing.
Virginia is second only to California in visits to federal properties and national parks, Brown said.
``One of the things we feel good about is that we have a lot of these properties compared to others in the top 10 and we're still ranked 10th,'' Brown said.
The association's study examines the economic impact of travel in terms of revenues, jobs, payroll and tax generation by Americans. International tourism dollars were not included in the study.
In total, American travelers spent $340 billion in 1994. The spending makes travel and tourism the nation's third-largest retail industry (behind food stores and automobile dealers) and the second-largest employer (next to health care).
The top five states with the greatest gains in domestic travel expenditures are: Mississippi (up 18.3 percent to $3 billion); Louisiana (up 14.5 percent to $5.6 billion); Nevada (up 12.5 percent to $14.5 billion); Maryland (up 10.1 percent to $5.4 billion); and North Carolina (up 7.8 percent to $8.5 billion).
Tourists from other countries spent $77 billion in the United States in 1994.
Travel and tourism, both domestic and international, represents 5.7 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
VP
TOP TOURISM STATES
SOURCE: Travel Industry Association of America
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: TOURISM VIRGINIA STATISTICS by CNB