WYOMING — The Wyoming travel economy saw increased travel spending in 2022 primarily due to inflation, according to preliminary findings from the Wyoming Office of Tourism’s 2022 Economic Impact Report.
Wyoming’s travel spending increased 3.2% annually in 2022, but adjusted for inflation, travel spending declined 9.5%.
While spending was up, visitation was down. In 2022, overnight visitor volume was 7.6 million, down 5.2% compared to 2021.
The report also pointed out that in addition to inflation, the extreme flooding events in Yellowstone National Park this past summer significantly impacted summer tourism in the region. “The summer season (Jun-Aug) has historically made up approximately 40% of annual tourism activity within Wyoming,” states the report.
According to Yellowstone National Park visitation data, the park hosted 3,290,242 recreation visits in 2022, which is down 32% from 2021, the busiest year on record.
Based on commodities, the most significant growth sector in 2022 was local transportation and gas, which grew 5%. The average price per gallon of gasoline increased by 20% in 2022 compared to 2021.
On the employment front, an estimated 1,750 jobs were generated by visitor spending. Accommodation and food services jobs increased by 6% compared to 2021.
“Our team secured a place in Forbes as one of the best places to travel in the U.S. in 2022,” Diane Shober, the Wyoming Office of Tourism executive director said. “On the international front, we saw a huge rebound in visitors as we continued our overseas outreach.”
According to the 2022 year and review by the Wyoming Office of Tourism, 43% of international marketing efforts are directed towards Mexico and Canada and 26% of funds are geared towards the United Kingdom. The remaining international marketing funds were split between Germany (7%), France (4%), the Benelux region (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) (2%), Nordic countries (3%), Italy (2%), Australia (2%) and Japan (1%). For international travelers, length of stay is two to three times longer than domestic travelers and international travelers spend three to five times more than domestic travelers.
The full report is available online.
