Published: November 19, 2008 10:49 am      

Clinton County reaches all-time high in travel expenditures

CLINTON — The economic impact of travel in Iowa counties was recently released by the U.S. Travel Date Center and the Travel Industry Association of America.

These reports present estimates of the impact of U.S. traveler spending in Iowa.

Clinton County experienced an 11.2 percent increase over the 2006 data reaching an all-time high of $88.59 million in expenditures. The payroll generated from the industry was $14.46 million with state tax receipts at $4.59 million and local tax receipts at $1.12 million.

Tourists visiting Iowa spent nearly $6.3 billion last year, up 7.6 percent from the previous report.

The impact is measured by dollars generated in expenditures, earnings, jobs and tax revenues. These estimates are produced through use of the County Travel Economic Impact Model, a computerized economic model producing estimates of travel spending at the county level, and its impact on employment, wage and salary (payroll) income, and state and local tax revenues.

The County/City Travel Economic Impact Model is an extension of the USTDC/TIA’s Travel Economic Impact Model initially developed in 1975 for the U.S. Department of the Interior to indicate the economic value of travel and tourism to states and counties. The TEIM has been revised substantially based upon more accurate and targeted input data available from governments and the private sector.

The TEIM is based upon national travel surveys conducted by the USTDC/TIA and expenditure data developed by the Bureau of the Census, the USTDC/TIA, various federal agencies and national travel organizations each year. The estimates of travel’s economic impact in Iowa are based upon the most recent version to the TEIM and data available from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources.

U.S. residents traveling in Iowa includes both state residents and out-of-state visitors traveling away from home overnight in paid accommodations, or on day trips to places 50 miles or more away from home.

For additional information, contact Heather Hilgendorf-Cooley, director of the Clinton Convention & Visitors Bureau at 242-5702 or via e-mail at hhilgendorf@clintonia.com.