Radius Indiana Begins Tracking Tourism Impact for Region

BEDFORD, Ind. (August 02, 2017) — Radius Indiana released today its first findings from the Radius Tourism Index (RTI). The index shows that the Radius region is outpacing other areas of the state in the overall vitality of the tourism industry sector.

Radius Indiana developed the RTI as part of a series of three indices, which also include manufacturing and small business, to provide the organization with analytic tools that monitor the strength of the regional economy in southern Indiana.

Radius used data from a previously published report from Rockport Analytics, a study commissioned by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development and Radius, along with other economic factors to create a baseline for the region’s tourism industry. The index tracks changes to key economic indicators including tourism jobs, wages, spending, tax receipts and overall economic impact, and compares them to the same data for the state of Indiana as a whole.

The RTI gives the region an initial score of 61.3 for the positive changes to the key economic indicators over a two-year period. The most significant change noted was a 13 percent increase in tourism spending for Radius, and the score was bolstered by double digit increases in tourism jobs and tax receipts. The state of Indiana as a whole also showed increases in all the key indicators, but less so than the Radius region, resulting in a score of 38.1.

“The Rockport report gave us a complete snapshot of regional tourism and now the Radius Tourism Index gives us a good tool to begin tracking its growth,” said Kevin Manley, executive director of the Dubois County Visitors Center and Tourism Commission and chairman of the Radius Indiana Tourism Development Advisory Council.

As the 7th largest industry in the region, tourism accounts for nearly 5,000 jobs Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange and Washington counties. Radius will continue to track tourism data to keep area stakeholders informed on how the industry changes over time.

“From Rockport we learned that annual visitor spending totals $271 million for our region and has an economic impact of $198 million for our eight counties—monitoring this industry from year to year is vital to our understanding of the area’s economic health and this very important economic sector,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana.

ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of the region to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.