Visitor Spending in 2022 Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels

November 14, 2023

Quad Cities, IL/IA (Tuesday, November 14, 2023) – Visitor spending in the Quad Cities has exceeded pre-pandemic levels, yielding significant economic benefits for local households, businesses and the public sector. This economic boost is derived from overnight stays, day trips, meetings, conventions, sporting events and group tours. The Quad Cities witnessed remarkable growth in the overall value of tourism, reaching $1.3 billion and supporting 9,097 jobs for Quad Citizens in 2022.

“Tourism is a leader in economic development for our region and these numbers are proof positive,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO of Visit Quad Cities. “The overall value that non-resident revenues bring to our regional economy is critical for quality of life and to build a tax base that we need for re-investment. While we are encouraged by these results in Scott and Rock Island counties, we are also observing growth in counties such as Mercer, Henry, Clinton, and Muscatine.”

Herrell continued, “In addition, we recently announced during our annual Destination QC! event that tourism is not only delivering for our public sector through much-needed tax revenues such as hotel/motel tax collections and sales tax but also has a direct impact on multiple revenue streams, including food and beverage, gaming, gas, and support for small businesses. Tourism also results in annual tax savings of over $1,260 per household in Illinois and Iowa. These numbers are encouraging, including the data we shared on October 26 which showed an 18% year-over-year growth in hotel/motel tax collections to $7.7 million collectively. We are currently realizing demand and are optimistic, but the market will soften. That is why increases in destination marketing investments to sustain this momentum and position us in a highly competitive landscape must be a community priority so that we do not lag behind our competitors.”

During the 2022 calendar year, Iowa and Illinois collectively welcomed 150.5 million visitors, resulting in an $88.4 billion economic impact.

Quad Cities Regional Visitor Economy Summary

County-by-County Analysis (Rock Island County, Illinois)

County-by-County Analysis (Scott County, Iowa)

The 2022 numbers come from the Iowa Tourism Office (a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority) and the Illinois Office of Tourism (a division of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity). Both contract with Tourism Economics, the leading authority on travel and tourism research, to prepare a comprehensive model detailing the far-reaching impacts of visitor spending. The results of these studies are reported annually to show the industry's scope in terms of visitor spending and the total fiscal impact generated. A county-by-county analysis is part of the Tourism Economics report issued by both states to their destination marketing partners like Visit Quad Cities. The U.S. Travel Association also uses Tourism Economics to report the economic impact of tourism.

In addition to the reports provided by Iowa and Illinois, Visit Quad Cities is a member of the U.S. Travel Association and uses its data to measure and analyze tourism performance in the market. Other business intelligence tools include:

Event Impact Calculator (EIC):

The Destinations International (DI) Event Impact Calculator draws on different data sources to provide an industry-wide standard. These sources include industry-wide studies, destination organization-provided data, and government data into the calculator's underlying model. These data sources are updated annually to provide destinations with the most current results.

Smith Travel Research (STR)

Founded in 1985, STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. The reports show the region's hotel occupancy, the average daily room rate (ADR) that hotels are charging for an overnight stay, and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR), a metric used in the hospitality industry to measure hotel performance.

Datafy
Datafy uses mobile devices and geofencing to gather data on each visitor 16 years or older. Visit Quad Cities is currently tracking visitation from 2018 to the present day. The data collected provides visitation numbers, demographics, visitor spending, interests, length of stay, and where they stay. Additionally, Visit Quad Cities can track year-to-year, month-to-month, and quarterly comparisons to see visitation trends and growth.

At its recent Annual Destination QC! Event, Visit Quad Cities shared its annual Destination Impact Report and how tourism is a critical part of the Quad Cities’ regional economy. By securing group business, advocacy efforts, and data-driven destination marketing tools that generate visitation, tourism is essential for Quad Cities' economy. Find out more at http://VisitQuadCities.com.

About Visit Quad Cities

Founded in 1990, Visit Quad Cities is the official Destination Management and Marketing Organization (DMMO) for the region. Visit Quad Cities is a private 501(c)(6) non-profit engine charged with driving economic opportunity through tourism, building our authentic brand, telling & selling the Quad Cities story, and enhancing Quad Citizens’ quality of life and quality of place.

About Tourism Economics

More than 300 leading companies, associations, and destinations work with Tourism Economics every year as a research partner. Their partner, Oxford Economics, is a leader in global forecasting and quantitative analysis. Tourism Economics worldwide client base comprises more than 1,500 international corporations, financial institutions, government organizations, and universities. Tourism Economics operates out of regional headquarters in Philadelphia and Oxford with offices in Belfast, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Frankfurt, London, and Ontario.

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Media Contact: Lindsey Row, Director of Public Relations and Communications, 309-736-6827 or [email protected]

The impacts measured and recorded by Tourism Economics include:

• Direct Impact – refers to impacts on business sales, jobs, income, and taxes created directly from spending by visitors in a destination within a discreet group of tourism-related sectors (e.g., lodging, food & beverage, recreation, retail, and transportation).
• Indirect Impact – refers to impacts created from the purchase of goods and services used as inputs (e.g., food wholesalers, utilities, business services) into production by the directly affected tourism-related sectors (i.e., economic effects stemming from business-to-business purchases in the supply chain).
• Induced Impact – refers to impacts created from spending in the local economy by employees whose wages are generated directly or indirectly by visitor spending.
• Employment – refers to jobs directly and indirectly supported by visitor activity (includes part-time and seasonal work). One job is defined as one person working at least one hour per week for fifty weeks during the calendar year.
• Personal Income – refers to wages, salaries, proprietor income, and benefits supported by visitor spending.
• Value Added (GDP) – refers to the economic enhancement a company gives its products or services before offering them to customers.
• Local Taxes – refers to City and County taxes generated by visitor spending. This includes any local sales, income tax, bed tax, usage fees, licenses, and other revenues streams of local governmental authorities –from transportation to sanitation to general government.
• State Taxes – refers to State tax revenues generated by visitor spending. This will include sales, income tax, corporate tax, usage fees, and other assessments of state governments.