The impact of tourism on Oneida county's economy was outlined Tuesday in a presentation to the Board of Supervisors.
Dana DeMet, who heads the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce also is President of the Oneida County Tourism Council..
".....travelers spent $185 million dollars in Oneida county in 2013. That's more than $5,000 for every man, woman, and child within our county. It accounts for over 2000 full-time equivalent jobs (here), and if we take it to a state level, one of every 13 jobs is tourism related..."
That amounts to more than $5,000 for every person in the county. It accounts for more than 2,000 jobs in Oneida county.
Tourism generated more than $19 million in state and local taxes that year. DeMet says without that money, local governments would need to increase taxes by $575 per person to meet current service use.
Tourism dollars also improve the quality of services and types of businesses in the county. He says the money is spent in a broad spectrum in the county...
".....25 percent is spent in food and beverage establishments, another 21 percent in our retail, 13 percent in recreation, four percent in our airport and 11 percent for other types of transportation....."
DeMet says tourism supports more than 180,000 jobs in Wisconsin. He says local room tax revenue shows more people are traveling, with collections the highest since 2009.
DeMet says they've used the marketing money provided to use traditional print and broadcast platforms, but are increasingly using social media to get the word out. Their website received more than 30,000 different visits from June 2013-this past June.
He says for every dollar spent in marketing, officials figure $6 dollars come back to Oneida county in traveler spending.
