The Pursuit of
Happy
TOURISM ECONOMIC IMPACT
DFW area is the #1 tourist destination in Texas.
- More than one third of the State’s $49.2 billion tourist spending was generation by the DFW area - $16.6 billion.
- Over 150,000 jobs with an annual payroll of $5.2 billion
- DFW area hospitality and tourism businesses and spending generated $967 million in local and state taxes.
Source: Dallas Fort Worth Area Tourism Council
IHS Global Insight analysis focused on the 2008 through 2010 travel years and the highlights of those findings are below.
- In 2010, visitor spending in Arlington, TX totaled $593 million. This is 8.4% higher than the $547 million spent in the city in 2008. For comparison, total direct tourism output for all of the US declined by 6.4% during that same time.
- If tourism spending within Arlington had followed the national trend, the 6.4% decline from 2008 would have resulted in over $81 million being taken out of the local economy.
- Tourism spending supports 10,500 jobs within Arlington, making up 8.8% of all private employment. Tourism supported employment has grown by 9.5% since 2008.
- Direct tourism employment in the US declined by 9.4% from 2008 to 2010. If tourism employment had followed the national trend, the 9.4% decline from 2008 would have resulted in a decline of over 1,800 jobs in 2010.
- The 8.4% growth in tourist spending was driven primarily by a 29% increase in spending in entertainment. The economic impact of these expenditures totaled $444 million in 2010.
- The total economic impact increased 7.8% from 2008.
