The U.S. Travel Association recently released a tool that shows the direct impact of a decrease or increase in tourist spending on a state’s economy.
The tool, the Travel Economic Impact Calculator (TEIC), also shows how travel-generated tax revenues directly support public sector jobs.
Tax revenue from tourists’ dollars is vital to local economies. In 2016, it generated $72 billion in local and state tax revenue. Without this revenue, every American household would be paying $1,250 more in taxes annually, the association said.
This revenue is enough that it could pay the salaries of 1.1 million secondary school teachers, 1.2 million elementary school teachers or 987,000 state and local police and firefighters.
“Travel is an engine for economic and job growth, and it helps communities maintain a level of service that would require more taxes, had it not been for travel-generated tax revenue,” Roger Dow, U.S. Travel Association president and CEO, said. “Just a one or two percent decline in travel spending can disrupt a state’s economy at every level—not just jobs at hotels, attractions, and restaurants, but also the income generated to pay for public services like police, firefighters, and school teachers.”
Several states have cut their tourism promotion budgets and other legislatures are considering cuts.