Visitors made an estimated 13.95 million person trips to Vermont during 2011 for leisure, business or personal travel. Direct spending by visitors for goods and services totaled $1.7 billion, according to a report released this week by the State of Vermont’s Department of Tourism & Marketing (VDTM).

The biannual VDTM comprehensive research study titled: “A Benchmark Study of the Economic Impact of Visitor Expenditures on the Vermont Economy – 2011,” was prepared by Chmura Economics and Analytics.

Record growth in visitor spending generated $274.5 million in tax and fee revenue for Vermont, a 37.5 percent increase over 2009. Visitor spending also supports an estimated 37,910 jobs for Vermonters; accounting for approximately 11.5 percent of all Vermont jobs; this reflects a 13.1 percent increase of employment in the hospitality and recreation sector since 2009.

The survey showed that of this massive increase more than ¾ million visits came from international visitors and they were staying an average of 3 nights in the State.  This report comes as Vermont expands its international tourism outreach with the establishment of a dedicated UK & Ireland office through representative company; WixHill Ltd to work alongside its activities with Discover New England. 

 “The preliminary reports for calendar 2012 indicate that the positive measures in 2011 have continued in 2012, with Meals, Rooms and Alcohol (MRA) sales up 4.73 percent,” VDTM Commissioner Megan Smith said. “Plus, this snowy, busy winter has meant a strong start for tourism in 2013.” 

Key sectors of Vermont's economy are substantially more dependent on visitor spending than the national average:
 

For Further information on selling the State of Vermont, including travel agent training, tour operator packages and collateral please contact WixHill Ltd, Vermont@wixhill.co.uk click on vermontvacation.co.uk or call 0800 345 7322