Source: Tourism Economics
The 2022 Economic Impact of Travel and Tourism in Pennsylvania report provides state, regional, and county-level estimates that demonstrate the vital importance of the travel industry to Pennsylvania’s economy. The report, which is prepared for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, shows that tourism spending in Indiana County amounted to $165.6 million in 2022 and accounted for 1,412 jobs countywide. Also reflected is that tourism employment in Indiana County has increased 10.7% since 2021, while tourism spending has increased approximately 25.2% in the same period.
Those figures reflect the direct sales to travelers at lodging establishments, restaurants, souvenir shops, gas stations, recreation and entertainment venues, museums, and the like. The report indicated that 38.5% of the $165.6 million in traveler spending in Indiana County was attributed to lodging. Traveler spending for other categories was 23.8% for food and beverage, 15.3% for retail, 33.2% for recreation and entertainment venues, and 22.1% for transportation. (See Tourism Spending chart for dollar values.)
In addition to direct sales, the report also captured various other indirect impacts attributed to the businesses that supply the direct vendors, such as restaurant food suppliers and hotel laundry services. The combined economic impact from direct and indirect sources was $174.4 million in 2022. And with the additional impacts of labor income and Federal, State, and local taxes incorporated into the equation, the total tourism impact in Indiana County, amounted to $285.7 million in 2022.
The Tourism Industry and Job Creation
According to the Commonwealth’s report, travel and tourism directly supported an estimated 322,000 jobs in PA and generated 115 new jobs in Indiana County between 2021 and 2022. Whereas the Jimmy Stewart Museum, state and county parks & trails, IUP academics/athletics, and the Smicksburg Amish community are mainstays for local tourism, the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex (KCAC) has had considerable impact on tourism attraction over the past several years and the growth in jobs within the tourism industry.
The report also provided economic impact data for each of Pennsylvania’s eleven tourism regions. Indiana County is one of eight counties in the Pittsburgh region, which is among the top three strongest tourism regions across the State. Collectively, tourism within the “Pittsburgh and Its Countryside” region supported nearly 55,000 jobs and generated $8 billion in direct spending in 2022. With the additional impacts of indirect and induced spending, the total tourism impact for the region was almost $8.6 billion.
On a Statewide basis, direct travel and tourism spending amounted to $45.4 billion in 2022, and directly supported an estimated 322,000 private sector jobs across the Commonwealth. Although travel and tourism do not have an official “industry code” similar to the way manufacturing, retail trade, or construction do, the employment attributed to the tourism industry ranks it among the top 10 industries in terms of the numbers of jobs it supports. Across the Commonwealth, tourism generates the equivalent of 4.8% of the State’s economy.
For more information on the economic impact of tourism and the economy or general inquiries about tourism in Indiana County, visit the Indiana County Tourist Bureau.