Footprints in the Sand: The Impact of Tourism on Oregon’s South Coast
September 17, 2024The Oregon Coast draws countless visitors from all over the world each year with its undulating dunes, unique rock formations, scenic rivers, and picturesque ocean views. Travel Oregon and Dean Runyan Associates provide data on the economic impact of tourism at the state, region, and county levels. Let’s take a walk in the sand and discuss how tourism impacts the economic landscape of Coos and Curry counties – otherwise known as the South Coast.
Overnight Occupancy
Both Coos and Curry levy lodging taxes on overnight stays for short- and long-term rentals. This tax is collected on the sale or rental of a room at lodging establishments including hotels, motels, B & Bs, campgrounds, RV parks, and online rental brokers. This tax is collected when payment is made for the accommodation and remitted back to the county by the lodging operator. Transient occupancy tax (TOT) receipts can be used as a proxy to measure the volume, frequency, and geographic distribution of tourist activity.
Coos County experienced two record years for TOT receipts in 2017 and 2018, collecting 26.7% and 71.5% more than the year prior, respectively. Receipts collected in 2018 alone added over $1 million in local taxes. After a brief dip in 2020, tax receipts nearly broke and subsequently exceeded the $4 million mark. These gains were a significant contributor to tax coffers in the South Coast, with Coos County contributing around two to three times receipts in Curry County.
Curry County’s tax receipts, while more modest, witnessed sustained increases from 2020 through 2022. Tax receipts nearly doubled in this three-year period. Prior to 2020 the last time Curry County saw tax receipts increase year over year by more than 18% was in 2004. Unlike Coos, Curry has witnessed a sustained increase in TOT receipts from 2012 onward.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a period of heightened uncertainty with travel restrictions and business closures deterring overnight travelers in many parts of the country. The South Coast was an exception with lodging taxes indicating increased tourist activity. Lodging tax revenues nearly doubled in the five-year period from 2019 to 2023.
To view additional details and the varying lodging rates for jurisdictions, visit Travel Oregon’s Lodging Tax.
Visitor Commodity Spending
Tourism dollars fall into six categories: (1) accommodations; (2) food services; (3) food stores; (4) local transportation and gas; (4) arts, entertainment, and recreation; (5) retail sales; and (6) food stores.
Historically, the South Coast region has seen year-over-year increases in visitor spending, excluding the periods of 2007-2008 during the Great Recession and 2019-2020 at the front end of the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2008 to 2009 visitor spending declined by 12%, then saw uninterrupted growth until 2019. From 2019 to 2020 visitor spending declined by 31%. In the last five years, visitor spending grew to reach a new all-time high of about $561 million.
From 2022 to 2023 visitor spending in Coos County went up by $26.2 million, an increase of 8.6%. Curry County saw an increase of $17.2 million (8%).
The majority of the $561 million generated by visitor spending in the South Coast was in accommodations and food services (56%). Accommodations made up 31% while food services including restaurants, breweries, wineries, and distilleries accounted for 25%. The remaining 44% was evenly distributed amongst the other four categories.
Average Overnight Spending
Travel Oregon tracks the average overnight spending paid by individual parties. These are dollars spent across all commodities including lodging. Spending more than doubled in the four-year period from 2019 to 2023. The consumer price index (CPI) only went up an average of 5% over the same four-year period, so inflation alone doesn’t account for these increases. Other factors to consider include gas prices skyrocketing, decreased lodging availability in surrounding areas driving up demand, and pandemic induced labor shortages causing employers to raise wages.
To read more about the Economic Impact of Tourism in Oregon the full report can be found here. An interactive dashboard is also available to view different tourism related metrics on Travel Oregon’s Annual Economic Impacts Dashboard.