Kansas City Breaks Tourism Records With 24 Million Visitors

October 2, 2015

According to new research released October 1, the Kansas City region welcomed 24 million visitors in 2014, a new record for the destination. This accounts for a five percent jump from the previous record in 2012, when 22.1 million travelers visited the area. This growth in travel is just one of the new findings from research commissioned by Visit KC, the city’s hospitality and tourism organization.

Conducted every two years by the firms of Tourism Economics and Longwoods International, the studies look at the economic impact of tourism and the profile of travelers to the Kansas City area-defined by the counties of Jackson, Clay, Platte, Johnson and Wyandotte.

The research supports that tourism remains a vital and growing component of the Kansas City economy. Among the other findings in the economic impact study:

Visitor spending grew to a record $3.1 billion in 2014, growing 12 percent in two years.
Tourism generated a record $5.1 billion in economic impact for the region, including indirect and induced.
Visitors to Kansas City spent $845 million at hotels and motels in the region in 2014 — $73 million more when compared year over year.
Tourism-generated employment reached a new high of 46,621 jobs, continuing a multiyear growth trend. One in 19 jobs in the region (5.2 percent) is sustained by tourism either directly or indirectly.
In 2014, tourism to the region generated $153 million in state taxes and $202 million in local taxes.
Taxes paid by visitors saved the average Kansas City household $525 in taxes in 2014.

“Kansas City has accelerated the improvement of new products that enhance the resident and visitor experience — from our walkable convention district to the arts and culture scene to the new streetcar that comes online next year,” said Ronnie Burt, Visit KC president and CEO. “We are thrilled that visitors are taking notice, to the tune of 24 million travelers. We are excited about the future and will continue to build upon this wonderful momentum.”

Kansas City witnessed steady growth in overnight visitation, recording a 6.2-percent increase year over year. About 48 percent of visitors (11.4 million) stayed overnight, with 52 percent (12.6 million) accounting for day trips. The majority of overnight visits (80 percent) were for leisure travel. Business travel (business trips, meetings or conventions) accounted for 17 percent of overnight trips — up from 13 percent in 2012.

In addition to gains on the economic front, the 2014 visitor profile study also revealed the demographic makeup of Kansas City’s average traveler:

The average visitor is a 42-year-old male, traveling with a party size of 2.6 people.
Daily spending per visitor is $63.33 and the average length of stay 2.4 nights.
Thirty-eight percent of travelers stay in a hotel, and 90 percent travel to the destination by car.
Kansas City’s largest origin markets by state are Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Iowa, California and Illinois.

“Tourism is a crucial component necessary to ignite our city,” said Burt. “The spark has been lit, and the nation is taking notice. According to these new findings, visitors are coming from as far as California and New York to experience our cultural activities, sporting events and culinary scene.”

For other findings from the study, click here.