Group touts another record for tourism spending in Clark, Floyd counties
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Spending by visitors to Clark and Floyd counties increased for the third consecutive year, according to a new economic impact report.
Visitors to the two-county area of southern Indiana spent more than $550 million on goods and services, which provided a total economic impact of $296.2 million, according to the report. The research, commissioned by the state’s Indiana Destination Development Corp., was conducted by Maryland-based Rockport Analytics using 2023 data.
“When visitors spend their money in SoIN, there’s direct, indirect and induced impacts that keep money circulating through our local community,” SoIN Tourism Executive Director Jim Epperson said in a Wednesday news release highlighting the report. “That money is also supporting our public services and helping to reduce the tax burden on our residents.”
Clark County ranked 9th out of 92 counties in overall visitor spending while Floyd County ranked 28th. The two counties share a convention tourism bureau, known as SoIn Tourism.
The tourism industry is the No. 7 employer in the two-county area, the report said. Tourism supported 7,291 jobs in 2023, a 5.1% increase from 2022, and generated $176.5 million in wages. (The No. 1 industry by employment is health and social services, followed by manufacturing and then government.)
Tax revenue amounts attributable to tourism amounted to $35.7 million in federal tax contributions and $60.3 million in state and local tax contributions.
The report said area tourism helps promote a healthy job market, benefits area businesses, contributes to public education and other government services, and helps relieve the tax burden on households.
The report was released in February, the same month that the board of SoIN Tourism OK’d $1 million to support four park, trail and public space improvements in the area.