The presence of the historic French Lick and West Baden resorts in Orange County provides the anchor for the Hospitality and Tourism cluster that carries a significant weight in southern Indiana. Within an employment base of 7,744 total jobs in the county, 1,443 jobs (18.6% of the total) are contained in the Hospitality and Tourism cluster.
The cluster includes a wide variety of North American Industry Classification System industries, such as skiing facilities, casino hotels, bed-and-breakfast inns, scenic and sightseeing transportation, and nature parks.
Orange County’s rise in the industry accelerated in the first decade of the century as the casino hotels were renovated and reopened. The 18.6% of total employment is far in excess of the national average rate of 2.0%, and the cluster’s employment has grown at a 2.1% annual rate over the past decade. The cluster subsector with the highest growth rate in the decade was recreational and vacation camps, which average 4.5% growth.
Casino hotels achieved a staggering location quotient of 77.98, meaning that the amount of employment in the sector was 78 times greater than the national average. Other hotels also were above the national average by nearly three times. Marinas – driven by the Patoka Lake facilities – hold a location quotient of 7.5, and skiing facilities held a LQ of 20.22, thanks to the Paoli Peaks area that is owned by Vail Resorts, Inc.
The average wages in the cluster are a respectable $46,162, nearly 99% of the national average wage for the cluster.