DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — According to a new study released by Tourism Economics, visitors traveling to Dayton and Montgomery County contributed a direct impact of $1.4 billion in 2021 sales, including thousands of jobs that were supported by the visitor spending.
In 2020, Dayton’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) reported a significant decline in sales growth, but now they believe our economy is recovering well all thanks to the tourism industry.
“We are seeing business come back, we are seeing the hospitality industry rally. It may not be back to 2019 levels yet but we are closing the gap,” said President & CEO Dayton CVB Jacquelyn Powell.
Visitors traveling to Dayton and Montgomery County created a boom in the local economy and the area experienced more than 20% sales growth in 2020.
“No where else in the world can you visit a museum like the National Museum of the US Air Force, or Carillon Historical Park or even our wonderful Dayton Art Institute,” said Powell. “Because we lost so much due to COVID we had a lot of ground to cover for recovery.”
That money had a big impact on the area’s workforce supporting 22,455 jobs in Montgomery County, accounting for 7% of all jobs in the county. Powell is optimistic this trend will continue in 2022 and said people are ready to travel once again and they’re spending their money in the Dayton area.
“Folks are getting back together and this is very good news for our economy,” said Powell. “Leisure and travel have come back strongly, people are ready to get out.”
Another $1 billion was generated in total impact, including indirect and induced impacts across the Miami Valley, totaling $2.4 billion.
