In The News

Visitor spending generated estimated $1.4 billion

ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Nearly 14 million visitors spent an estimated $1.4 billion in Arlington last year, with more than half of those visitors staying overnight, according to a study by Longwoods International.

The report, prepared for the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau, provides an overview of Arlington’s domestic tourism business in 2015, including information about overnight and day visitors, visitor expenditures and other relevant trends.

“As Arlington undergoes a transformation, we can see that travel and tourism continue to experience significant growth,” said Ron Price, President & CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Continuing to expand upon Arlington tourism options with new projects like Texas LIVE! and others is a key element of success to properly compete with comparable destinations.”

Of Arlington’s 13.9 million visitors in 2015, an estimated 56 percent came for overnight stays while 44 percent came for day trips.

“We use the results of this study to gather visitor information and assess the impact of our ongoing tourism efforts,” said Decima Mullen, Senior Director of Marketing & Public Relations for the Arlington CVB. “This is a positive testament that those efforts are continuing to build upwards, creating a stronger economy for our community while consistently offering our visitors memorable experiences.”

The 2015 Arlington Visitor Profile Report also found:

• About 55 percent of visitors come to stay the night in Arlington to visit family and friends, while an estimated 28 percent of overnight trips were attributable to marketing efforts for special events, such as festivals, concerts and games
• In all, 69 percent of visitors who participated in the study said they were “very satisfied” with their overall trip experience in Arlington
• Visitors stayed an average of 3.2 nights in Arlington for their overnight trips, the study found. And visitors didn’t just spend their money at the entertainment venues. Of the $1.4 billion spent during overnight trips in Arlington, an estimated 34 percent, or $481 million, was spent on lodging while 25 percent, or $344 million, went toward food and beverage purchases. Retail spending accounted for 16 percent, or $224 million, followed by recreation and entertainment spending at 13 percent, or $184 million, and transportation spending was at 12 percent, or $166 million
• People who traveled to Arlington for the day from at least 50 miles away spent an estimated $472 million on trip-related expenses, the report found. Retail was the top expenditure at 32 percent, or $152 million, followed by 30 percent, or $141 million for food and beverage purchases. Recreation and entertainment expenses were about equally divided at 19 percent each

“Visitor spending is critical to our economy. Those tax dollars help pay for core city services, such as police and fire, parks, streets and libraries, that make our community a safe and vibrant place to live, learn, work and play,” Jay Warren, Communications Manager for the City of Arlington said.

-arlington.org-