Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
The hospitality and tourism industry pumps millions of dollars annually into the Southern Indiana economy.
In 2020, the eight-county Radius Indiana region brought in $280 million in tourism spending with an economic impact of $138 million, according to a tourism study by Rockport Analytics for Discover Southern Indiana.
Casinos, hotels, RV parks and campgrounds, museums, marinas, parks and places to ski, snowboard, hunt and fish bring visitors to the region. These places don’t just enhance the experience of visitors, they provide employment and wages to residents in those communities. In 2020, total wages tied to tourism in the region totaled $82.2 million.
Despite the effects of the pandemic, the industry remains vital.
In 2021, there were 79 hospitality and tourism establishments in the Radius Indiana area, an increase from 67 establishments in 2011.
According to Jobs EQ, a data analysis platform, 2,163 people were employed in hospitality and tourism in the eight Radius counties – Dubois, Daviess, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, Crawford and Washington – during the first quarter of 2022.
The JobsEQ data gives a snapshot of the hospitality and tourism industry over the past decade.
In 2022, average wages were $37,619; the national average is $46,801 for the industry. Wage growth has been minimal over the past 10 years. Average wages for the region have increased 2.2% compared to 3.7% for the nation.
Among the top industries – casino hotels, hotels/motels and recreation and vacation camps, employment in the RV camps sector grew the most at 4.5% over the past 10 years. Casino hotels employment dropped 0.1% and hotels/motels dropped 1.0% over the decade.
Across the industry, the top earners are at casino hotels, with average wages of $52,761. Casino hotels also employ the most in the region with 1,109 in 2022 Q1.
Evidence that tourism can spark additional investment is abundant in Orange County where the French Lick Resort is the largest employer.
“Tourism and Hospitality is our number one industry in Orange County,” said Kristal Painter, executive director of Orange County Economic Development Partnership. “Tourism jobs cover a wide spectrum of opportunities with an enterprise that large. With over 1,000 full-time team members at their facilities, jobs and careers range from what you would typically imagine tourism/hospitality to be like with a focus on food services, housekeeping, and maintenance … to careers like engineering, construction, accounting, legal, and marketing to name a few. “
Prior to the opening of the French Lick Springs Hotel and Casino in 2006, followed by the West Baden Springs Hotel in 2007, Orange County was one of the poorest counties in the state. Unemployment was high and opportunities were few. Bill and Gayle Cook took their passion for historic preservation and worked with Indiana Landmarks to save the dilapidated West Baden hotel with its free span dome and restore the French Lick Springs Resort to its original beauty.
Painter said the county looks nothing like it did before the Cook family invested $560 million renovating the French Lick Resort and the historic West Baden Springs Hotel, a national landmark that had partially collapsed and was on the brink of being lost forever.
Since the hotels opened, the area now has a water park, three additional hotels, restaurants, new sidewalks and streetscapes.
“The investment into tourism has sparked growth in each of our communities with other hotels opening up, family-friendly activities that appeal to visitors and community members alike,” Painter said. “Prior to the resurgence of tourism and hospitality related businesses, Orange County was struggling. Tourism has brought revenue into our community and has allowed our community to grow, we’re still seeing growth through efforts that have spawned due to tourism … like the new Orange County Workforce Housing Development.”
Tourism by occupation
With casino hotels representing half those employed in the industry in the region, the other segments providing jobs include hotels/motels (597), RV camps (except campgrounds) (80), other amusement recreation industries (77), RV parks and campgrounds (50) and skiing facilities (39).
When breaking down the hospitality and tourism industry by occupation, food preparation/food service is the largest segment at 21% followed by building and grounds maintenance at 18.7%, personal care and service 17.6%, office and administration 13.7%, installation, maintenance and repair 6.4% and all others 22.7%.
Annual wages for those occupations range from an average of $22,000 for gambling dealers to $56,100 for first-line supervisors of gambling services workers.
The largest number of employed staff are maids/housekeeping services (231), gambling dealers (184), desk clerks (152) and wait staff (127).