Destination Cleveland Reports Highest Visitor Number To Date

CLEVELAND (Oct. 17, 2018) – Destination Cleveland, the destination marketing and management organization for Cuyahoga County, announced a record-breaking 18.5 million people visited Cuyahoga County in 2017 for business and leisure travel, a 2.3 percent increase over 2016. The region’s rate of visitor growth continues to outpace the U.S. growth rate (1.9 percent in 2017), according to Tourism Economics.

Both day and overnight visitor volumes grew from 2016 to 2017 with each segment expanding at a rate of 2.3 percent. Day visitors represented 59 percent of the total number of visitors to the region, while 41 percent were overnight visitors. This contributed to 5.3 million hotel rooms sold in Cuyahoga County in 2017 (up 2 percent over 2016). Since 2011, overnight visitation has grown by 25 percent while day visitation increased by 24 percent[i].

Travelers to the region infused billions of dollars into the local economy. The bi-annual Economic Impact of Tourism in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Study from Tourism Economics[ii] reported a total economic impact of $8.8 billion in Cuyahoga County as a result of travel and tourism activity, an increase of 8.6 percent over 2015. The region benefited from $1.1 billion in taxes generated, which resulted in a savings of nearly $1,100 in taxes for each Cuyahoga County household. The industry represented 8.2 percent of the county’s private employment in 2017 and supported more than 68,300 jobs in Cuyahoga County, a 3.8 percent increase over 2015 and a 12 percent increase over 2011.  

“With more visitors coming to the region year after year, perceptions of Cleveland continue to be changed around the country and the world,” said David Gilbert, president and CEO, Destination Cleveland. “And a visitor is so much more than just a visitor. Positive travel-related experiences in Northeast Ohio influence visitors’ consideration of Cleveland as a place to live, work, study or invest, which helps us to get one step closer to our goal of becoming a destination city.”

Increases in visitors, hotel rooms sold and economic impact can be attributed, in part, to Destination Cleveland's efforts to enhance and promote the Cleveland visitor experience for both leisure and business travelers. Destination Cleveland's convention sales team achieved a 30 percent increase in lead volume and meetings and convention bookings in 2017 over the prior year. Destination Cleveland reached more than 1.3 billion people in 2017 through paid advertising, social media, digital outreach and earned media placements.

ABOUT DESTINATION CLEVELAND: Destination Cleveland is Cleveland’s destination marketing and management organization. This private, non-profit organization’s mission is to drive economic impact and stimulate community vitality for Greater Cleveland through leisure and business travel. Cleveland welcomes 18.5 million visitors annually. For more information, visit www.thisiscleveland.com.