July 12, 2007

Tourism Increases in Warren County in 2006

Bowling Green, Ky. - Tourism in Warren County increased 9.5 percent in 2006 and added $274 million to the county’s economy, according to new statistics released by the Kentucky Department of Tourism.

Warren County’s numbers are part of an overall 6.6 percent statewide increase in tourism in 2006, which added $10.1 billion to the state’s economy. Over the last three years, tourism in Warren County has increased 28.2 percent and tourism in Kentucky has increased 23.8 percent.

“These numbers clearly show – in dollars and cents – how valuable tourism is to Warren County and all other counties in Kentucky,” said Randy Fiveash, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Tourism. “The tourism money that is spent in our communities circulates several times into the area economy, that means more people benefit and more jobs are created.”

We have worked hard here in Warren County to attract more visitors to the area,” said Vicki Fitch, Executive Director of the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Thanks to strong local leadership, excellent attractions and facilities and the beauty of Bowling Green-Warren County, we’ve been successful. We are looking forward to even more growth in the future.”

“Now what we want to do is to work with officials in Warren County and other counties in the state to determine how we can increase the number of people who come here in the future,” added Fiveash. Not only do our visitors take in the beauty of the Commonwealth, they also spend money in our restaurants, hotels, gas stations and retail stores. So every business in the community benefits from tourism dollars.”

The report, compiled by the Travel Industry Association (TIA), also showed 176,900 people statewide are employed due to tourism, earning more than $3.36 billion in payroll income. In the past three years, some 6,000 new tourism related jobs have been created in Kentucky.

According to the TIA report, nearly $6.81 billion was spent directly by domestic travelers in Kentucky in 2006. Added to the indirect spending, the total value is $10.1 billion. That amount generates $987.1 million in local, state and federal taxes. Without tourism, each family in the United States would pay an additional $900 per year in taxes.

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