A new report by a Newport-based state economist says visitor spending on the Oregon coast and Benton County increased to $1.56 billion in 2018 and that leisure and hospitality jobs – a sign of visitor spending — continue to increase this year.
Erik Knoder, a regional economist for the Oregon Employment Department, said that visitor spending for the region has been rising for seven years and increased 1.4 percent from 2017 to 2018, the latest year numbers are available.
The growth in 2018 was more than in 2017 but slower than in preceding years, Knoder said in his report this week. Slower growth in an industry is typical as an economic expansion matures, he said, and growth in visitor spending has been slowing since 2014.
Leisure and hospitality is the largest industry sector in northwest Oregon, which for the agency consists of Lincoln, Benton, Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook counties. It provided nearly 16,700 payroll jobs on an annual average basis in 2018 – about 17 percent of all jobs excluding self employment.
Lincoln County had the largest share of visitor spending in 2018, Knoder said, and was second to Clatsop County in hospitality employment.
The two largest parts of the sector are the motel/hotel/vacation rental industry and in food services. The industry’s health depends in large part on spending by visitors, Knoder said.
Complete records aren’t available for 2019 yet, but preliminary estimates indicate that about 380 more jobs are being added this year in leisure and hospitality in the five counties. This matches the slower employment growth experienced overall in the economy in 2019.
The leisure and hospitality sector is considered the bellwether for tourism.
Visitor spending peaked in 2006 at $1.32 billion (in 2018 dollars), and then fell 2 percent the next year, Knoder said. It was up and down during the recession and recovery. It was $1.26 billion in 2011 and has climbed since then.
With visitor spending increasing and fuel costs still below earlier peak levels, Knoder sees employment in the leisure and hospitality industry continuing to expand.
The five counties in northwest Oregon combined to add 549 (3.4 percent) leisure and hospitality payroll jobs in 2018. From 2017 to 2018, Benton County added 78 jobs in leisure and hospitality, Clatsop County added 253, Lincoln County gained 152, Tillamook County added 66 jobs, and Columbia was unchanged.