OLMIS

by Guy Tauer
Published Oct-27-2011

Each year, Dean Runyan Associates produces a report, Oregon Travel Impacts, on behalf of the Oregon Tourism Commission. Information presented here is from this report. The purpose of this study is to document the economic significance of the travel industry in Oregon. This report describes the economic impacts of travel to and through the state and each of its 36 counties over the time period 1991 to 2010, and includes detailed estimates of travel spending, the employment and earnings generated by this spending, and travel-generated tax receipts. Estimates for 2010 are preliminary. A primary objective of this research is to provide reliable, detailed figures that permit year-to-year comparisons at the state and county levels.

Total South Coast travel spending rebounded in 2010, after plummeting during the depths of the Great Recession between 2008 and 2009. After growing steadily through the 2000s, 2009 travel spending declined by 12.3 percent from the prior year. In 2010, preliminary estimates show a gain of about 7 percent. Despite the yearly gain, total travel spending in 2010 was essentially what it was back in 2006 in the Coos and Curry counties region.

Travel-generated earnings and employment are a significantly greater share of the South Coast economy than for Oregon. Dean Runyan estimates that travel-generated employment in Curry County was 1,780 in 2010, or nearly 17 percent of total employment. Coos County travel-generated employment was 2,790, or 9 percent of total employment in 2010. In comparison, 4 percent of employment in Oregon statewide was travel-generated.

Coos County travel spending outperformed Curry County over the past year, and over the longer-term. From 2009 to 2010, Coos travel spending rose by 11 percent, while Curry travel spending fell very slightly (-0.1%). Total travel spending in Curry County was slightly more than one-half of Coos County total travel spending in 2010. Over the past two decades, Curry County's average annual growth in travel spending was 2 percent, less than one-half of Coos County's annual growth rate of more than 4 percent. Certainly, the additions of the Mill Casino and Bandon Dunes golf courses spurred travel spending in Coos County.

Additional data available from Dean Runyan Associates at the county level include visitor spending by commodity purchased; industry earnings generated by travel spending; industry employment generated by travel spending; and government revenue generated by travel spending. The report includes visitor spending by traveler accommodation, average expenditures for overnight visitors, and overnight visitor volume. To access the full report, see the Dean Runyan Associates website at www.deanrunyan.com/index.php.