The state s tourism office also recently released an analysis of its consumer marketing program to measure the impact of its advertising on travel consumers. This study conducted by Longwoods International, a leading North American travel research firm, indicated that the economic growth trend is starting to top out, with a decline expected if current levels of advertising remain the same.
Tourism is good business for Washington and puts significant tax revenue in state and local coffers.
It also creates business proprietorships and family-wage jobs. But new research is telling us that we can t take the success of the last decade for granted. The nature of the visitor market is changing. Washington state s advertising was noticed by 1 million potential visitors from its largest market, the Pacific Northwest and Northern California region. A total of 163,000 more people traveled to the state than would have had we not advertised.