Contributors

Lee, Seung Hyun; Shapoval, Valeriya

Abstract

The main purpose of this report is to document the economic effects of tourism in Osceola County. Few industries have as much impact on the economy of Osceola County. In 2012, a total of 5.9 million tourists visited the area, spending on average $5.8 million per day, resulting in $2.1 billion in direct spending effect. The total economic contribution of tourism to the county is $3.1 billion, resulting in an estimated multiplier of 1.48. The total economic contribution of tourism accounts for about 28% of the gross economic product of the county. In total, the tourism industry supported one in every seven Osceola County jobs for an estimated 38,204 jobs in 2012. The total economic impact as a result from tourist spending generated a total of $401 million in taxes for the federal, state and local governments. The total room tax generated was estimated at $36,931,578. In addition, sales tax due to tourist spending was estimated at $46.8 million. Without the taxes generated by tourism, Osceola County residents would have had to pay $900 in taxes to keep the same level of county services and infrastructure. The economic impact estimation was derived from intercept surveys conducted at 26 locations in the county. The venues were selected by Experience Kissimmee based on specific targeted segments. A total of 2,838 surveys were collected. Respondents were grouped according to a purpose-oriented segmentation. The following segments were identified: leisure, SMERF, business, amateur sporting events, festivals, consumer and trade shows, spring training, and entertainment. The market segmentation also included demographic profiles such as age, education, and income within the purpose-oriented segmentation. The data collected indicated that the meeting segment spent the most per day per person at $84.23, followed by festivals ($79.13), domestic leisure ($79), leisure international ($77.40) and sports ($73.84).1 The total direct tourist spending accrued largely to four industry sectors: Retail trade (NAICS 44-45), Transportation & warehousing (NAICS 48-49), Arts-entertainment & recreation (NAICS 71), and Accommodation & food services (NAICS 72). Sixty two percent of the secondary effects accrued to four specific sectors: 28% to Real estate & rental (NAICS 53), 13% to Professional- scientific & technology services (NAICS 54), 12% to Administrative & waste services (NAICS 56), and 9% to Finance & Insurance (NAICS 54). Within the tourist sector, the direct spending accrued largely to accommodation and food services. Twenty-nine percent of their budget was spent on accommodation, followed by food and beverage (27%), clothing (17%), groceries (7%), theme parks and recreation (7%), shopping (6%), gasoline (4%), car rental (3%), and others (2%). Tourism is a vital source of employment in the county that complements other sectors. One in every seven jobs is supported by the tourism industry. The direct tourist spending supported a total of 29,207 jobs. The Accommodation & food services (NAICS 72) created 16,178 jobs, followed by Retail trade (NAICS 44-45) with 10,340 jobs. The remainder of the jobs originated in the Transportation & warehousing (NAICS 48-49), Arts-entertainment & recreation (NAICS 71) sectors. The majority of respondents to Kissimmee stayed in hotels, traveled in groups of 3.8 persons per party, and reported 5.8 nights as their average length of stay. Ninety-two percent of respondents whose main motivation for visiting Kissimmee was for business and convention stayed in hotels. Fifty-seven percent of those visiting Kissimmee for leisure stayed at timeshare hotels. Respondents whose main reason was attending festivals stayed the least in hotels and timeshare. The trip characteristics and spending profile of the respondents are depicted in figure 1.

Keywords

tourism; jobs; economic development; Osceola County

Prepared For

Experience Kissimmee

Publisher

The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies

College

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Publication Date

2-1-2013

Document Type

Report

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0025795

Language

English

Place

Kissimmee, FL; 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

30 p.

Type

document

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