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Covering the Tetons since 1965

Covering the Tetons since 1965

Tourism Conference Next Week

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The annual Governor’s Hospitality and Tourism Conference will be held at Cheyenne’s Little America Hotel and Resort on Feb. 23-25. As Wyoming’s second-largest industry, nearly 300 influential tourism and hospitality industry representatives gather for networking and educational opportunities.
“This year, we look forward to celebrating the tourism industry’s successes – including the Wyoming women’s suffrage campaign, which generated 638 million impressions – while continuing to set our goals for the future of Wyoming’s tourism,” said Diane Shober, executive director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism. “This conference allows our tourism partners to learn, grow and be inspired from some of the industry’s best professionals.”
Hosted by the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association (WLRA) and the Wyoming Office of Tourism (WOT), the Governor’s Hospitality and Tourism Conference will consist of a variety of keynote speakers, and industry breakout sessions. This year’s topics include: 2020 travel trends, refining a marketing strategy, a look ahead for WOT’s marketing plans, industry spotlights, how to work with media, motorcoach 101 and much more.
In 2018, Wyoming’s travel and tourism industry continued to grow, with travel spending by visitors reaching more than $3.8 billion, according to the 2018 Wyoming Travel Impacts Report done by Dean Runyan Associates.
The conference will also highlight preliminary tourism economic impact data. Although final 2019 economic impact numbers will not be published until April 2020, preliminary indicators show positive results. Early indicators include:

  • Domestic and international visitors spent approximately $3.9 billion while traveling in Wyoming.
  • Travel spending generates around $203 million in local and state tax revenue.
  • Wyoming travel industry GDP is estimated to be $1.6 billion in 2019 and represents 4% of total state GDP.
  • Last year, travel GDP expanded by 5.2% while Wyoming’s economy overall grew by 1%.

Please note: 2019 preliminary indicators are based on three quarters of available data. All figures are subject to revision.
In addition to the economic impact data, WOT’s advertising effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) study – done by Strategic Marketing and Research Insights (SMARInsights) – shows a direct correlation to the economic indicators:

  • WOT’s “That’s WY” campaign influenced 3% more trips in 2019 than the previous year, indicating that 1.29 million trips to Wyoming would not have happened without the advertising investment.
  • In 2019, WOT’s campaign generated over $64 million in tax revenues.
  • For every dollar WOT invested in leisure travel marketing, $13.73 was returned to the state from out-of-state visitor spending in Wyoming.

For more information on the Wyoming Office of Tourism, visit the award-winning site, TravelWyoming.com. For more information about the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association, visit WLRA.org.

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