Nebraska Association of Bed and Breakfasts

NEBRASKA TRAVEL AND TOURISM FACTS
 Tourism is Nebraska’s third largest earner of revenue from outside the state after agriculture and
manufacturing.
 Travelers spent almost $3.8 billion in Nebraska during 2009 on trips away from home with
overnight stays in paid accommodations and on day trips to places 100 miles or more away. Annual
spending in Nebraska on these trips has increased by over $2.1 billion since 1990.
 Jobs attributable to travel spending in Nebraska totaled 45,300 in 2009.
 Each dollar spent by tourists in Nebraska is respent in the state to produce an additional $1.70 in
business and income, creating an overall economic impact of $2.70.
 Nebraskans and visitors to Nebraska together made 18.7 million trips in the state in 2009 to
destinations 100 miles or more away from home. For trips by visitors, the leading states of origin
were, in order, Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, South Dakota, Illinois, and Minnesota.
 The average nonresident traveling party visiting Nebraska by highway during the summer consists
of 2.4 persons who stay 2.2 nights in the state and spend $435. Over a third of the nonresident
traveling parties go to attractions or events, and for each attraction or event visited, they average a
half-day longer in Nebraska, spending an additional $100.
 Among the nationally recognized and/or best attended Nebraska attractions in 2009 were: Agate
Fossil Beds National Monument (12,700), Arbor Lodge State Historical Park (120,000), Ashfall
Fossil Beds State Historical Park (22,000), Boys Town (100,000), Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical
Park (47,056), Calamus Reservoir State Recreation Area (476,806), Durham Museum (150,000),
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park (1,120,200), Fort Robinson State Park (335,046), Golden Spike
Tower (36,000), Harlan County Lake (505,934), Hastings Museum/Lied Super Screen Theatre
(61,759), Homestead National Monument (66,000), Indian Cave State Park (146,515), Henry Doorly
Zoo (1,561,279), Joslyn Art Museum (177,037), Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area (892,815),
Lauritzen Gardens (160,000), Niobrara National Scenic River (68,058), Platte River State Park
(697,894), Ponca State Park (835,500), Scotts Bluff National Monument (67,235), State Capitol
(92,470—tours only), Strategic Air and Space Museum (132,600), Stuhr Museum of the Prairie
Pioneer (67,284), and University of Nebraska State Museum (68,482).
 Over 60 percent of the nonresidents visiting Nebraska during the summer stay at hotels or motels.
The state has over 28,000 hotel, motel, and bed and breakfast rooms, which had an average annual
occupancy rate of 53 percent in 2009 and offered the nation’s 7th lowest average room costs.
 The total budget of the Nebraska Travel and Tourism Division in Fiscal Year 2009-10 was
approximately $5.5 million, compared to an average of $13.5 million among all state travel offices.
A one-percent lodging tax provides much of the revenue for the Division “to generally promote,
encourage, and attract visitors to and within the State of Nebraska and enhance the use of travel
and tourism facilities within the state.”
 At the end of 2009, 74 of Nebraska’s 93 counties had lodging taxes to collect revenues for promoting
local travel and tourism. Including the highest concentrations of hotels, motels, and campgrounds in
Nebraska, these 74 counties have almost 98 percent of the state’s total commercial lodging sales. In
addition, at least 10 Nebraska cities have occupation taxes on lodging sales, with most using the
proceeds for attraction development.
12/8/10