USA: TourismOhio Says Tourism Earns More Than $500 Million To Mahoning County

Last year, visitors to Mahoning County generated $542 million in direct business activity.

The results of a study by TourismOhio shows that along with the business activity, tourism helped support more than 9,500 jobs, provided $191 million in wages and generated $102 million in taxes locally.

"The numbers show that tourism is an important contributor to the economy here in the Youngstown area," said Linda Macala, Executive Director of the Mahoning County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Sports tournaments, leisure travel, conferences, weddings and reunions all contribute to our economic development picture. These events bring people and visitor dollars to our area, and those dollars spread throughout the community."

Macala also said the total economic impact for Mahoning County jumps to $821.7 million when you factor in indirect spending — what those tourism-related business sectors spend to operate and maintain their business and provide goods and services to visitors.

Statewide, tourism is a $42 billion dollar industry, according to TourismOhio — a 6 percent increase from 2013.

The study looks at several tourism-related business sectors: lodging, food and beverage, recreation, retail and transportation, and calculates their contribution to the overall tourism industry statewide.

The study is conducted bi-annually by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics Company located in Philadelphia.