Montgomery County had $1.51 billion in tourism sales in 2009, down 9.2 percent from $1.66 billion in 2008, according to data from Tourism Economics, a tourism consulting company based in Philadelphia.
Area hotel occupancy and room rates, which impact counties’ 3 percent lodging tax revenues, increased slightly or remained flat last year.
“For this area, I think we can continue to see the same sort of modest increase,” said Alan Raney, spokesman for the Greene County Convention and Visitors Bureau. He credited the improving economy and rising popularity of the sports market, especially youth soccer tournaments, that account for thousands of hotel room nights annually in the region.
Montgomery County, whose key events include the Winter Guard International championships, rebounded slightly last year with a 5.9 increase in hotel occupancy and 0.8 percent drop in ADR from 2009, according to data from Smith Travel Research.
“It is going in the right direction,” said Jacquelyn Powell, president and chief executive of the Dayton/Montgomery County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Warren County, home to Kings Island amusement park, had 7.8 million visitors in 2009, up nearly 15 percent from 6.8 million in 2008. However, lodging tax revenue in 2009 fell 5.3 percent to $1.7 million.
“People may have come in record numbers, they just didn’t stay the night as much as they did in the past,” said Phil Smith, president and chief executive of the Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Raney attributed the 0.3 percent drop in Greene County’s 2009 lodging tax revenue of $808,843 to a decrease in business travel.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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