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This
Tourism Week, Another Way to Say "Impact"
The
6 May 2005 edition of the Zeitgeist e-Zine
It’s
that time of the year...National Tourism Week begins tomorrow!
Or, should I say “See
America Week?” Because, that’s the new name
bestowed upon the annual event that has always aimed to celebrate the
tourism industry and highlight its critical importance to the American
economy.
As my friends in the industry have struggled to squeeze their Tourism
Week events into TIA’s
appointed time frame, I’ve often reminded them that they could
just as easily schedule their hometown Tourism Week in April...or October.
After all, the only people that know that National Tourism
Week is the first full week of May that begins on a Saturday when there’s
a full moon (or whatever the rationale is for selecting the dates)...are
those of us in the industry. The target audience certainly
doesn’t know (or, apparently, care). So, I’ve told my friends,
lighten up...and schedule it whenever you want.
I have a sneaking suspicion that all that will change in the years ahead
under Roger
Dow’s leadership of TIA...and See America Week
will become a juggernaut that both encourages consumers to travel the
nation AND appreciate the value that tourism brings to each and every
one of us, both financially and culturally.
So, to all those that I’ve encouraged to "lighten up"
over the past decade...never mind. I think the future of this week will
be changing.
One thing that won’t change for many of us is the annual economic
impact figures of the previous year that so many of us announce on or
about See America Week. And, as we roll out the obligatory
county-by-county breakout statistics of total visitor spending, jobs
supported and taxes generated, the skeptics in the media and government
will continue to say, “whatever.”
It’s impossible for the average citizen to get their arms and
mind around such abstract figures. And the concept that a “fun”
industry like tourism can produce thousands of jobs and millions in
tax revenues just doesn’t resonate for many outside our industry.
Oh sure, Joe
McGrath once quantified Pittsburgh’s
Tourism impact by breaking it down to cups of coffee served and cans
of Iron
City beer consumed. And many of us share the “if
there was no tourism, your property taxes would be $600 higher”
rap. But, I haven’t seen a really cool spin for a while that could
get Joe and Jill Public to cock their heads and say, “really?”.
Until yesterday. The folks in Hernando
County FL (the home of Weeki
Wachee) recently trotted out their impact statistics in
front of the County Commissioners with a new twist. They claimed that
tourism represented 16% of the total sales tax generated in the County.
Thus, tourism is responsible for 16% of the County’s economy!
And that, my friends, puts the size of tourism’s impact in a context
that residents (and government) can understand.
And don’t cluck that, “of course it’s high, it’s
Florida.” I tried the simple formula they used on my hometown
of Madison
WI...and came up with 12%. That’s right,
just about one in every $8 spent here is spent by a visitor. That ought
to raise some eyebrows over at the County Building.
Now, not everybody can do this...but if you can track the sales tax
collected in your county, you can determine the total sales number for
your county by reversing the formula used to derive the tax. Divide
that number into the total estimated impact of tourism (real, not induced)...and
you’ll get your percentage. And, if it’s over 10%, I’d
consider using it next week when you announce your impact figures.
I know I’ll be trying it out on audiences in South
Bend, Myrtle
Beach, Bradenton
and Fort
Myers. I’d love to hear how it worked for you.
Here’s hoping you have an impactful See America Week!
Bill
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