Economically Speaking: Tourism remains bright spot in state's economy

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Joseph L. Driskill is director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.|ret||ret||tab|

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Our tourism industry is still affected by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, about three-fourths of its members report that travelers are staying closer to home.|ret||ret||tab|

About a month after the attacks, the Missouri Division of Tourism launched the "Rediscover Your Missouri" campaign in an effort to bolster tourism and encourage more in-state travel. This marketing campaign was created in partnership with other government agencies. |ret||ret||tab|

The campaign targets Missourians and travelers in neighboring states, inviting them to take advantage of what Missouri has to offer. It was meant to boost slumping tourism revenues in the wake of Sept. 11 and provide a strong foundation for long-term growth. We are now seeing the results of the campaign. |ret||ret||tab|

At a press conference just before Christmas, Gov. Bob Holden announced that state tax revenue from tourism increased over the past year, totaling $126 million more in taxable sales revenue than in 2001. Holden credited the Division of Tourism, which falls under the Department of Economic Development, for its efforts. |ret||ret||tab|

Tax revenues from 17 tourism-related industry classifications increased by 2 percent over the last fiscal year. University of Missouri researchers are projecting additional increases in this area over the next two years. Statistics show that domestic trips increased 5.4 percent over the last year. These trips are defined as traveling more than 50 miles from a person's home. |ret||ret||tab|

This was not the only good news for the tourism industry in Missouri. By the end of November, we already had more visitors in 2002 at the state's six Welcome Centers than we did in 2001. In 2001, the centers had about 590,000 visitors. For the first 11 months of 2002, the centers counted about 615,000 visitors. Lodging room revenue was also up in 2002, with a year-to-date increase of 1.4 percent as of the end of October. Requests for Missouri vacation planners in the fall of 2002 increased by 223 percent over the same period in 2001.|ret||ret||tab|

Our tourism staff has been very effective at doing "more with less," as have many other government agencies in this difficult economy. The Division of Tourism's cost per lead fell from $10.89 in 2000 to $6.53 year-to-date in November 2002. |ret||ret||tab|

One of Missouri's brightest spots and most popular destinations remains Branson, which had a record-breaking year in 2002. Branson officials estimate that 8.2 million travelers visited the city in the last fiscal year, which runs Oct. 1-Sept. 30. This number is a 14 percent increase from the previous year. In that same time period, Branson's tourism tax revenues were up $10.9 million in 2002, a 9 percent increase from 2001.|ret||ret||tab|

These revenue increases in tourism are very important to our economy. Tourism is one of Missouri's largest industries, with more than 200,000 Missourians working in tourism-related jobs. This amounts to one out of every 14 jobs in our state, which signifies the importance of tourism. |ret||ret||tab|

Indeed, the recent reported increases in visitors and tourism revenues are good news for all of us. With its central location and wide variety of activities and sites, the Show-Me State has always been considered a family-friendly destination. We will continue working hard to promote our state to visitors. |ret||ret||tab|

For more information about the Division of Tourism and what Missouri has to offer, log on to the tourism Web site at www.visitMo.com. |ret||ret||tab|

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