Visitors Now Spend More than $1 Million a Day in Frederick County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 23, 2015

CONTACT: John Fieseler, Executive Director, 301-600-4041 or Charissa Hipp, Digital Marketing & Media Relations Manager, Tourism Council of Frederick County, 301-600-4023

Visitors Now Spend More than $1 Million a Day in Frederick County

Frederick, MD – As spending by visitors to Frederick County rose from $361.2 million in 2013 to $380.4 million in 2014, it meant that for the first time average daily spending by visitors to the county topped one million dollars, according to a newly released study.  The Economic Impact of Tourism in Maryland is compiled annually by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics Company.  The report for calendar year 2014 was released on Dec. 16, 2015. This annual report examines the tourism industry in the state as a whole by looking at sectors including lodging, food & beverage, retail, recreation, transportation, and more. Additionally, the report provides tourism statistics for each Maryland county, as well as Baltimore City and Ocean City. The figures reflect spending by people who travelled at least fifty miles for a purpose other than commuting to work or school.

“Because visitors spend money at such a wide variety of establishments, big and small, scattered throughout the county, it isn’t often obvious to residents what a large industry tourism is for Frederick County,” said Tourism Council of Frederick County Executive Director John Fieseler.  “We hope the million dollars plus per day figure helps put it in context.”

The study shows that in 2014, nearly 6,500 jobs in Frederick County were supported by visitor spending, covering payroll of $237 million. Those figures include jobs that exist directly and indirectly as a result of the tourism industry. Visitors paid combined Federal, State and local taxes of $104.5 million.

The $380.4 million spent by visitors in Frederick County Tourism in 2014 grew by 5.3% over 2013. Transportation expenditures accounted for 26.2% of tourism industry sales, and food & beverage was a close second accounting for 25.9%. Recreation and retail each accounted for 16.1%, followed by lodging at 13.6% and second homes at 2.1%. Every category experienced growth except for second homes.

Visitation to Frederick County grew 1.6% in 2014 to 1,745,000. As the official Destination Marketing Organization for Frederick County, the Tourism Council, which brands itself as “Visit Frederick,” promotes the county to potential visitors through destination marketing initiatives, group tour marketing, product development and visitor services. Fieseler says “a major focus of ours in recent years has been to increase overnight stays, bringing increased average trip expenditures.”