Tourism is a big deal for Barton County, an excited Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes told the City Council Monday night. She had received the most recent Tourism Economic Impact Report from Kansas Tourism, and it contained promising information and helped solidify the importance of promoting the community to lure more visitors.

“We paid for this as Barton county because Great Bend accounts for 95% of the tourism in Barton County,” she said. The report was costly enough, so by doing this, it saved the CVB about $3-4,000.

Hayes said they don’t buy this report every year because it does cost so much. “But it’s interesting to see.”

Kansas Tourism (which falls under the Kansas Department of Commerce) taps data from four sources for the report – the Kansas Department of Revenue; the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; and Smith Travel Research, a national measure of hotel demand and performance, and a tourism industry standard. Barton County sales and transient guest tax receipts are also included. 

“Some of the key findings are pretty big,” she said.

They include:

• The total economic impact that tourism made – visitors spent $54 million in Barton County in 2022 alone and that sustained 658 jobs (6% of the county’s workforce) and generated $5.7 million in state and local taxes.

• Looking at the different areas where visitors are spending money in Barton County: 

– Transportation, that includes fuel and taxi services, etc. – $16 million or 30% of the total.

– Food and beverages – $15 million or 28%.

– Retail – $9 million or 17%. This is why Hayes said it is important to sponsor retail events to encourage folks to shop here.

– Lodging – $8 million or 15%.

– Recreation and entertainment – $6.1 million or 11%.

“This is he piece that has continued to rise as I’ve been watching it,” she said. “I remember what it was down at 5%. They are seeing that trend since COVID, people are wanting to go out and have fun.”

Entertainment venues, parks, attractions and sports facilities should see increased business.

The numbers cover 2022, the most recent availably.

What about the employment?

Hayes also expanded on the jobs portion of the report. “There are different types of jobs (supported by tourism).”

• Direct jobs – tourism jobs like Hayes, a hotel staff member, a taxi cab service, and these account for 452 jobs in Barton County.

• Indirect jobs – those who deliver to hotels and such, and those who provide services to these establishments, and these account for 99 jobs.

• Induced jobs – these include local individuals or businesses that establish a partnership with tourism business, and these account for 106 different jobs.

A big impact

The bottom line is tourism makes a big contribution, she said.

“Overall tourism for great for Barton county,” she said. “It impacts each individual household.”

That means each of county residents saves $600 annually because of local tourism efforts, she said. Two years ago it was $540.

Statewide, tourism is saving each resident $759.60. “When you promote your community and you bring in outside visitors, that brings new dollars into your community. So let’s continue to see that rise.”