Navigation

Visitor Spending Up 1 Percent in 2010

 

In spite of the still sputtering national economy, tourism spending in Door County held steady in 2010, according to the state’s annual economic impact survey.

 

Tourism-related spending in Door County rose to $382.2 million in 2010, an increase of 1.3 percent over 2009. The estimate comes from Davidson-Peterson, the firm the state has contracted with for 20 years to come up with the number.

 

“It’s what we expected,” said Jack Moneypenny, Executive Director of the Door County Visitor Bureau (DCVB). “More overnight stays, as the room tax returns showed, but less spending while they were here. Instead of four bottles of wine, they bought two, that kind of thing.”

 

The Davidson-Peterson formula for Door County was modified significantly this year because the visitor bureau asked them to incorporate room tax data into their formula for the first time (for a detailed explanation of how Davidson-Peterson arrives at its number, click here).

 

Davidson-Peterson traditionally calculates its estimates of visitor spending by combining surveys of innkeepers with interviews of random tourists about how much they spend on meals, entertainment, and other activities. Room tax data is much more accurate and detailed, providing hard numbers for room nights filled and average daily room rates.

 

To create an apples to apples comparison to 2009, Davidson-Peterson refigured its 2009 estimate using room tax data from that year as well. The revision changed the 2009 estimate dramatically, from $430.5 million to $377.4 million. Moneypenny said this is the most accurate picture of tourism’s impact on the economy that the county has ever produced.

 

“By applying room tax data to 2009’s survey, we make the comparison real,” he said. “I don’t believe any number has been wrong, we’ve just refined the number.”

 

It’s the first time Davidson-Peterson ever incorporated actual room tax data into one of its surveys because Door County is the only county in the state that collects a countywide room tax.

 

“No other community has that kind of data,” Moneypenny said. “We have a true county picture of occupancy and average daily rate for the county.”

 

Unfortunately, the change in formula makes it difficult to compare the 2009 and 2010 data to the county’s historical tourism impact numbers calculated without room tax data, and it may not be comparable in future years either.

 

The state Department of Tourism chose not to use Davidson-Peterson in 2011, opting instead to pay for a Return On Investment (ROI) study from Longwoods International. That study will examine the effectiveness of the tourism department’s out-of-state advertising.

 

As a result, the DCVB is considering not continuing with the Davidson-Peterson survey next year. At its April 19 board meeting, board member Brian Kelsey suggested the DCVB may be able to put the survey money to better use.

 

“We’ve never had money to do research before,” he said. “Now that we’ve been liberated from the Davidson-Peterson number, maybe it’s time to ask, what do we really want to know? What drives ROI, and what is going to drive results for Jack and his team?”

 

The board didn’t make a final decision on the study but will likely take up the issue again at its May meeting.

 

The Davidson-Peterson survey determined that tourism spending supported the equivalent of 6,767 full-time job equivalents in 2010 and generated an estimated $16.86 million in local government revenue. Shopping expenditures totaled $105.40 million, food expenditures $97.69 million, recreation $85.19 million and lodging $61.77 million, while transportation spending totaled $32.18 million.

 

The Department of Tourism is expected to release its state-wide returns April 26. The state did announce that Wisconsin’s direct tourism expenditures totaled over $12 billion in 2010, making it the third largest industry in the state behind manufacturing and agriculture.

 

Upcoming Door County Visitor Bureau Events

 

• A DCVB member mixer will be held May 4 at the Harbor Fish Market in Baileys Harbor from 4 – 7 pm.

 

• The DCVB will host a National Tourism Week Breakfast at Stone Harbor Resort in Sturgeon Bay May 11. Deputy Secretary of Tourism David Fantle will speak at the breakfast, which starts at 8:30 am.

 

• Geiger and Associates will be bringing another media tour to the county May 12 – 15, featuring travel writers from around the country.