Nltra Publishes Study On North Tahoe Visitor Impacts

NLTRA PUBLISHES STUDY ON NORTH TAHOE VISITOR IMPACTS

(TAHOE CITY, Calif.) – The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association (NLTRA) recently published the results of a comprehensive study about the economic significance of travel to the North Lake Tahoe area. Commissioned by the NLTRA and the Placer County Board of Supervisors, the study was prepared by Dean Runyan Associates of Portland, Oregon.
Approved last spring at a cost $43,000, the study took approximately five months to complete. Estimates of travel spending and economic impacts were taken from travel-generated receipts from 1997 through 2002. The study highlights the primary impacts of visitor spending, as well as the secondary impacts of such spending.

“To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive analysis of how our economy works that’s ever been done,” Ron McIntyre, NLTRA Director of Infrastructure and Transportation, said. “The data is detailed and presented in a manner that will have numerous applications throughout the community. Its initial application will be as a foundation and resource document for development of NLTRA’s new North Lake Tahoe Tourism and Community Investment Plan.”
The report shows that visitors spent $355 million in the Placer County region of North Lake Tahoe in 2002 (an increase of three percent per year since 1997). The majority of spending went towards recreation ($128 million), with $79 million going to retail (including gas stations and food markets), $75 million to dining in restaurants and pubs and $74 million was spent directly on accommodations. Visitor spending generated more than 6,900 jobs (71 percent of the area’s total) and comprised approximately two-thirds of the area’s total earnings.

“The document underscores not only the significance of travel to North Lake Tahoe for those businesses we typically associate with the tourism industry, but also those who benefit from the secondary impacts of travel spending, including construction and real estate,” noted NLTRA Executive Director Steve Teshara. “It documents the local and state tax revenues generated by tourism, which are significant. Overall, it’s a study full of useful and interesting information.”
The report also compares North Lake Tahoe to other mountain area resorts (Mammoth Lakes, California; Sun Valley, Idaho; Park City, Utah; Aspen, Colorado; and Vail, Colorado), as well as profiling area population, trends, housing and accommodations.

For a copy of the study, please contact Kelly Brandl-Sparks at 530-581-8734 or stop by the Visitor Information Center located at 380 North Lake Boulevard in Tahoe City.

The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, established in 1996, is the umbrella organization for the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and the Tahoe North Visitors and Convention Bureau. The Association also serves as a partner with Placer County in the development and funding of infrastructure and transit projects designed to enhance tourism and community quality of life for the benefit of all in the North Lake Tahoe region. For more information about the organization, visit their website at www.gotahoenorth.com.