Tourism industry reaches record heights in ohio

For more information, contact:

Jill Bauer, Public Relations Coordinator

Lake Erie Shores & Islands

419.625.2984

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOURISM INDUSTRY REACHES RECORD HEIGHTS IN OHIO

April 5, 2016 (Sandusky, Ohio) - While manufacturing was once king in cities like Sandusky and Port Clinton, Ohio, today these communities, and others like them in north central Ohio, have reinvented themselves as tourism destinations. As investment continues to grow and more new businesses that cater to travelers open, an area that was once steeped in the automobile industry is increasingly driven by tourism. And the numbers support that claim.

The Lake Erie Shores & Islands region, which includes Erie and Ottawa Counties in Ohio, saw record lodging sales and lodging tax receipts in 2015. Lodging sales increased 5% to $164 million in 2015. That was an increase of nearly 50% over the past decade. Lodging tax receipts also reached a new height in 2015 as nearly $3.6 million was collected. More than $24 million was collected in sales tax, an increase of 38% over the past decade. Those numbers are a direct result of increased investment by existing and new businesses.

The Shores & Islands region is home to a wide variety of world-renowned attractions including Cedar Point, known as the “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World;” five indoor waterparks including Kalahari Resort and Great Wolf Lodge; the Lake Erie Islands; plus a variety of other attractions, restaurants, overnight accommodations, and more.

“Tourism is a major economic driver along the north coast of Ohio,” stated Larry Fletcher, executive director for Lake Erie Shores & Islands Visitors and Convention Bureau which encompasses both Erie and Ottawa Counties in Ohio. “This region welcomes more than nine million visitors each year, making it one of the most popular leisure and business travel destinations in the Midwest.”

According to a recent report from the World Travel & Tourism Council, travel and tourism added 7.2 million jobs to the global economy in 2015, supporting a total of 284 million jobs, or one in every 11 jobs around the world. In the Shores & Islands region, the tourism industry employs the full-time equivalent of more than 12,000 people, or one in every four jobs, and accounts for more than $321 million in annual payroll. Those numbers continue to grow, and as they do, the tourism industry provides additional benefits not just to visitors, but to the local communities as well.

“Businesses and residents in the Shores & Islands region have embraced this new identity and benefited from it,” said Eric Wobser, city manager for Sandusky, Ohio. “Thanks to tax dollars we receive from Cedar Point and other attractions, as well as lodging tax revenue that we collect, we are able to provide a better quality of services and improved infrastructure to our residents.”

The economic impact of the tourism industry is proving far-reaching. Once known as a summer vacation destination, the Lake Erie Shores & Islands region has matured into a year-round destination, thanks in part to an influx of indoor waterparks, convention centers and a new sports complex scheduled to debut in 2017.

“Fears of economic stagnation have long passed as these cities rebuilt their economies forged in part by an industry that can’t be outsourced or moved for the promise of tax abatements or cheaper labor,” stated Melinda Huntley, executive director of the Ohio Travel Association.

Research continually shows that visitors to the area come from far and wide, and their overall opinion of the region is very favorable. A recent study showed that people who not only saw advertising for the area, but also visited, overwhelmingly felt “very strongly” that the Shores & Islands region was a great place to live, start a career, start a business, attend college, purchase a vacation house or retire.

These types of results help to further the case made by local business leaders about the value of capitalizing on their proximity to Lake Erie. They continue to push for the area to be seen not just as a regional travel destination, but as a picturesque, fun, affordable true competitor in the vacation and tourism industry nationally and internationally.

About Lake Erie Shores & Islands

Lake Erie Shores & Islands is the destination name given to the Erie/Ottawa County region in Ohio. It is not limited by county boundaries, but brands the region as a destination for vacationers, group tours, meetings and conventions, events, weddings, and sports. The Lake Erie Shores & Islands Welcome Centers, officially known as visitors bureaus, are the main marketing organizations for the region. These centers are funded primarily by lodging taxes collected from area overnight guests.

For more information, visit http://www. or call 800.255.3743.

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The Jet Express heads for the Lake Erie islands

from downtown Sandusky – Photo courtesy of

Lake Erie Shores & Islands