Abstract

The tourism industry in Osceola County has undergone some significant changes over the past ten years. The inventory of the accommodation sector increased by more than 20%; the industry became more diversified and complex by a greater number of timeshare properties in the area, the emergence of vacation homes as a prominent market segment and the emergence of convention hotels. The continuing evolution of the tourism industry has kept it a significant player in the economic landscape of the county. The analysis considered the local tourism industry from the perspective of both direct impacts (i.e. employment, value-added and government revenues generated by the local tourism industry and its employees) and indirect impacts (i.e., the employment, value-added and government revenues generated by suppliers to the industry). The analysis confined the tourism industry to three market segments, including hotels, timeshare properties and vacation homes. It excluded the segments of visitors to the 3,667 campsites/RV sites reported by the Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau and those visiting friends and relatives (VFR) due to the difficulties in collecting data related to these segments. Tourism brought in 6.2 million visitors to the area in 2007, which is a 5% increase compared to 2006. The total economic contribution of the tourism sector is estimated at more than $2.7 billion dollars in 2007, generating nearly 47,000 jobs throughout the economy with a total of nearly $1.8 billion in earnings. In addition, it yielded $239 million in taxes for the state and local governments, and $35 million in room taxes. The county received an estimated $15 million dollars from sales tax. The inventory of the lodging industry in the area totals 46,283 units at the end of 2007. The hotel segment contains the largest amount of units (a total of 24,355) followed by the timeshare properties and vacation homes with 8341 and 7811 units respectively. Visitors from the three market segments displayed different spending patterns during their stay and indicating therefore different economic effects throughout the county. The economic contribution of the hotel segment accounted for more than $1.7 billion dollars, generating nearly 27,000 jobs and yielding nearly $155 million in taxes. The average wage was $24,118. The timeshare segment yielded $383 million in economic contribution, generated more than 9000 jobs and produced $28 million in taxes. The average wage for the timeshare for the timeshare industry was $22,471. Finally, the vacation homes segment contributed more $641.5 million to the county economy, yielded over 10,000 jobs, and accounted for $57 million in taxes. The average wage for the vacation homes segment was $22,886 (see Table 1). The average wage for the tourism industry was $23,159.

Prepared For

Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau

Publisher

The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies

College

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Publication Date

5-1-2008

Document Type

Report

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0025794

Language

English

Place

Osceola County, FL

Rights

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies. All copyright, confidential information, design rights and all other intellectual property rights of whatsoever nature contained herein are and shall remain the sole and exclusive property of The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies. The information furnished herein is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, no responsibility is assumed by The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies for its use, or for any infringements of other rights of third parties resulting from its use. The UCF and The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies name and logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the University of Central Florida.

Number of Pages

15 p.

Type

document

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