1 Million GNMP Visitors Spent $66 Million in 2012...

[Venter]

These Numbers are from 2012!
I read this as if they were the numbers from the 2013, 150th Anniversary - so at first, I wasn't so impressed.
So, I can't wait for the official 2013 Numbers to come out.

So what do these numbers actually mean?

• One million into $66 million is an Average of $66 apiece.
  
• Considering the Cost of a Hotel Room (Double occupancy or not) a lot of the money went there
  
• Hell, a Kepi will set you back, what, $15-20!?
• A meal will eat into a chunk of that.
• Gas alone, just to get out of town, will run you more than $66!
• 1 million GNMP visitors spent $66 million - but 1,092,000 visitors in 2010 spent $67.4 million - So the Numbers appear to be pretty flat.
• "The spending supported 838 jobs in the local area, according to the report." - How do they do that math?
  Is there a Formula?
• Are these Strictly Battlefield and Eisenhower Farm Numbers?
• What are the Numbers for the OTHER "Non-Historical" Visitors to the Region?
  

From the Gettysburg Times:

Report: 1 million GNMP visitors spent $66 million

Posted: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 12:05 am

BY JARRAD HEDES Times Staff Writer

Over 1 million Gettysburg National Military Park visitors spent a combined $66,317,600 in local communities in 2012, according to a recently released National Park Service report.

U.S. geological survey economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber, and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service, conducted the peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis.

The spending supported 838 jobs in the local area, according to the report.

Eisenhower National Historic Site had 53,286 visitors in 2012 who added $2,867,400 to the local economy, supporting 38 jobs.

"We are proud to welcome visitors to Gettysburg from across the country and around the world," said Ed W. Clark, GNMP superintendent. "National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy - returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service - and it's a big factor in our local economy as well. We appreciate the support of our partners and neighbors in Adams County and are glad to be able to give back by helping to sustain local communities."

In comparison, more than 1,092,000 visitors in 2010 spent $67.4 million in the area while visiting GNMP and Eisenhower.

The current report shows $14.7 billion of direct spending by 283 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. The spending supported 243,000 jobs nationally, with 201,000 jobs found in the gateway communities, and had a cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy of $26.75 billion.

According to the report most visitor spending supports jobs in restaurants, grocery and convenience stores (39 percent), hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts (27 percent), and other amusement and recreation purposes (20 percent).

"Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site are an enormous draw for visitors to Adams County," said Norris Flowers, president of Destination Gettysburg. "Visitors not only look for history, but ways to experience that history, and the National Park Service sites in Gettysburg do an incredible job at telling our story. These historic sites play a big part in the success of tourism in Gettysburg."

The full report is available at www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/economics.cfm.

[lifesaver]

I would expect the 2013 numbers to be significantly improved, however, since it is a once every 25-50 year or so deal it still is testament to the fact that we can't count on tourism as the sole revenue maker for the county.

[zapman]

Who counted? How do we know these are actual? How do we know there are million visitors, wouldnt a good part of it be local residents? Just wondering who knows how to count them and how they came up with these dollar amounts? Last year I was sure the roads would be packed, lots of over flow parking, gridlock on the highway from all the hype about the visitors for the 150th celebration......Unless I live in another State, I did not see it. Am I the only one?

[paulkellett]

I don't believe that only 838 jobs were sustained by tourism, think about hotels and campgrounds alone. I read that 87% of statistics are made up. So, what can be done about these static numbers. Work with the new buyer of Boyd's to create a small venue convention center, for instance. Use the pillow tax to promote off season tourism, i.e. conventions. Give these conventions free stuff using the pillow tax revenue. That way, business coming here for a trade show might say I like Gettysburg they have free stuff there. It would also stabilize employment for a lot of folks. We need that first date with companies, and make it a good one. Some of the money could be used to wine and dine companies thinking of relocating. Furthermore, we need to streamline zoning ordinances to make such business uses by right, not conditional uses. A use by right does include performance standards, i.e. setbacks, parking requirements, etc. but does not include a huge question mark of what the heck else are they going to ask for. It also saves time, permitting is time goes to weeks instead of months. Just two ideas on how to create growth.

[Alex Oreilly]

Mar 6, 2014 10:47:51 GMT -5 paulkellett said:

I don't believe that only 838 jobs were sustained by tourism, think about hotels and campgrounds alone. I read that 87% of statistics are made up. So, what can be done about these static numbers. Work with the new buyer of Boyd's to create a small venue convention center, for instance. Use the pillow tax to promote off season tourism, i.e. conventions. Give these conventions free stuff using the pillow tax revenue. That way, business coming here for a trade show might say I like Gettysburg they have free stuff there. It would also stabilize employment for a lot of folks. We need that first date with companies, and make it a good one. Some of the money could be used to wine and dine companies thinking of relocating. Furthermore, we need to streamline zoning ordinances to make such business uses by right, not conditional uses. A use by right does include performance standards, i.e. setbacks, parking requirements, etc. but does not include a huge question mark of what the heck else are they going to ask for. It also saves time, permitting is time goes to weeks instead of months. Just two ideas on how to create growth.

I like that idea Paul of turning Boyds Bear into a convention style business. There is a food court and a place for banquets. Plenty of parking and bus parking.

[davew]

When I was still in school, the paper ran a story that there were 1.7 million visitors and an economic impact of $107 million or something.

I guess they changed the way they measured the numbers. I'd also suspect that the 800 or whatever jobs might be a bit understated. Maybe it's prorated for summer jobs, etc. ONe thing the tourism does is give high school kids jobs that would otherwise not be as plentiful. When you live elsewhere, you read in the paper that only some middling % of kids are able to get summer jobs. That was never the case for us in Gettysburg, there was always some sort of job you could take that was tourist-related (or not, having some kids take the tourist jobs leaves the spots open on other ones, too).

[davew]

Just to clarify, that "when I was still in school" was somewhere in the 1990s. I wonder if I could find the article on google newspaper and see how accurately I can remember numbers?

[davew]

Well, here's one. the 1.7 million # was still being used in 2008

www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/arts/artsspecial/12Lincoln.html?_r=0

Not that there aren't a million different ways to call someone a visitor and the next person "not a visitor".

[davew]

Maybe they should put inventory stickers on people when they enter the park. "Do Not Count" and "Inventoried".

[Venter]

Mar 11, 2014 7:11:59 GMT -5 davew said:

Maybe they should put inventory stickers on people when they enter the park. "Do Not Count" and "Inventoried".

I think it's obvious by the speed they drive

I'll make Decals that say "Getysberg Lokle"

[davew]

You can make some stickers that say "butterfield approved" to put on motorcycle exhaust pipes, too.

[lifesaver]

Mar 13, 2014 9:39:28 GMT -5 davew said:

You can make some stickers that say "butterfield approved" to put on motorcycle exhaust pipes, too.

I think I know a sign maker that could help out with that.

[Venter]

Mar 13, 2014 9:59:17 GMT -5 lifesaver said:

Mar 13, 2014 9:39:28 GMT -5 davew said:

You can make some stickers that say "butterfield approved" to put on motorcycle exhaust pipes, too.

I think I know a sign maker that could help out with that.

How About:
BUTTERFIELD CHECKED MY TAILPIPE!

[davew]

Mar 13, 2014 17:23:39 GMT -5 Venter said:

Mar 13, 2014 9:59:17 GMT -5 lifesaver said:

I think I know a sign maker that could help out with that.

How About:
BUTTERFIELD CHECKED MY TAILPIPE!

That'd go well with a rainbow sticker.

[Venter]

Hmmm... $66 million in a YEAR?
OR... $458 Million within a WEEK!!!

Sturgis Bike Week: 

Official statistics show that in 2011, 416,727 attendees stayed for an average of 5.8 days and spent $183 per day. Those totals equate to about $458 million.

The state [South Dakota] essentially doubles its population during the Rally, and only recently began receiving a promotional boost from the state, according to Woodruff.

“Before [the Chip] came along and innovated Rally tourism outreach and advertising, nobody had promoted the Rally,” he said. “Nobody bought an advertisement that said ‘Hey, come to Sturgis.’ Our state just doesn’t want to do anything for the Rally. It was only three or four years ago that you would see a motorcycle on a state tourism publication, and motorcyclists bring in half a billion dollars-plus every year to an area that’s economically deprived. The Rally is still the black sheep. Isn’t that strange?”

Source: www.powersportsbusiness.com/top-stories/2012/04/02/undeniable-pocketbook-power-sturgis-economic-impact-could-reach-1-billion/

[philliesfan]

You can juggle numbers around to make them say what you want. Why does it take over a year and sometimes two years to publish financial figures and visitor numbers? Don't they keep track of tickets sold, etc? For people reportedly attending the 150th Reenactments, there were several different "estimated" crowd figures used, didn't anyone bother to keep track of tickets sold or actual tickets/passes turned in for each event? Depending on who was publishing the numbers, one group would say that we estimate over 150,000 were in attendance, while another group would estimate that there were an average of 25,000 per day?