News & Events
Rockport Helps Visit San Antonio & Travel Texas Assess the Future Impact of IPW 2023
September 7th, 2021 |
San Antonio is slated to host IPW, the travel industry’s premier “speed-dating” event that brings U.S. destinations and travel suppliers together with international travel buyers from all over the world. Rockport Analytics conducted an analysis of survey responses from past IPWs along with an assessment of the inbound international tourism market in Texas and San Antonio to forecast the impact of hosting the event. In the three years following the event, we expect an additional 603,000 international visitors will be driven to Texas (395,000 to San Antonio) and future visitor spending will surpass $1 billion in Texas ($614 million in San Antonio) across the 3-year period. Read more about the findings in the San Antonio Express.
Rockport Analytics Analyzes the Effect of Sargassum on the Florida Keys Economy
August 2nd, 2021 |
Rockport supported the Monroe County Tourism Development Council (TDC) to better understand sargassum’s impact on the tourism industry in the Florida Keys. Sargassum is a seaweed-type material (macroalgae) that collects in floating mats that have become more prevalent on the shorelines on the Atlantic coast of Florida and the Caribbean basin since 2010. Rockport conducted an assessment of visitor perceptions around the sargassum blooms and the impact that the presence of sargassum has on visitation. These results were pitted against the cost of various mitigation methods to assist the TDC and other stakeholders in determining a plan of action in the control of annual sargassum blooms. An executive summary of the study’s results can be found here.
Rockport’s COVID-19 Travel Impact Index Assists Indiana’s Tourism Industry in Developing a Roadmap for Recovery
July 10th, 2021 |
The Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC) commissioned Rockport Analytics to develop an index to measure the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the leisure and travel-related (LTR) sectors throughout the state. The study included a series of surveys to gain measures of consumer and business sentiment. Survey results were combined with other high-frequency indicators such as unemployment claims, epidemiological metrics, hotel demand, and TSA throughput to create a comprehensive view of performance across the LTR sectors. Watch Elaine Bedel of the IDDC discussing some of the results on Inside Indiana Business.
The Chesapeake & Ohio National Historic Park Generated $309 Million in Visitor Spending in 2019
June 11th, 2021 |
The Maryland Office of Tourism Development (OTD) partnered with Rockport Analytics to perform a study for the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal National Historical Park (NHP). The goal of the study was to assess the visitor profile for the park, measure key drivers of visitation, better understand stay patterns associated with park visits and assess the economic impact that visitor spending has on the surrounding region. The research found that 1.3 million non-residents visited the C&O Canal Park in 2019. Those visitors spent $309 million dollars in the area, supporting 3,900 jobs across an array of sectors and generating $46 million in state and local tax revenue. Download the full study here or read the press release here.
Landmark Research Measuring Engineering’s Impact on the U.S. Economy
March 4th, 2021 |
Rockport Analytics worked with the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Research Institute to develop a series of studies that profile the Engineering and Architectural Services sector and measure the significant impact that engineering has on the U.S. economy. Highlights from the study show that the Engineering and Architectural Services sector employs more than 1.5 million people and pays an average annual salary of $88,000, far exceeding the national average of $60,300. The Engineering and Architectural industry’s revenue reached nearly $386 billion in 2019 and it generated almost $122 billion in federal, state and local taxes across the U.S. (Learn More)
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Drives $10 Million in Economic Impact for Talbot County in 2019
August 6th, 2020 |
A recent Rockport Analytics study of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum found that roughly 40,000 people visited the attraction from outside the local area in 2019. These visitors spent more than $11.6 million in travel-related goods and services during their visit and generated $10.3 million in value added to the Talbot County economy including $8.9M in local wages and $1.7M in state and local tax revenue. The museum’s planned expansion will generate another $7.5M in capital expenditures and $5.8 million in additional economic impact for the state of Maryland. Read More
Introducing Rockport’s COVID-19 Travel Impact Barometer (TIB)
April 6th, 2020 |
The COVID-19 pandemic has slammed the brakes on economic activity over the past month. The travel and tourism industry along with its key component sectors – accommodations, transportation, retail, entertainment & recreation, and food & beverage services – have all been hit particularly hard. Now is a critical time for destination marketing organizations (DMOs), travel suppliers and stakeholders throughout the industry to analyze the impact of the pandemic and begin to map a plan for recovery.
To help support this planning, Rockport has developed a Travel Impact Barometer (TIB), a model that assesses the risk that COVID-19 poses to travel destinations and suppliers across a number of key factors & metrics:
1. Economic Indicators
2. Scientific/Epidemiological Factors
3. Political/Social Measures
4. Traveler Sentiment & Behavior
Our model can be customized and used to track the ongoing threat posed by COVID-19 as well as to forecast travel activity as the pandemic evolves. By leveraging real-time data and forecast scenarios, destinations and travel suppliers can better position marketing and operational strategy as we begin to recover from this sharp and unprecedented downturn.
Please contact us if you would like to get more information about the Travel Impact Barometer (TIB) or discuss how we might be able to support your organization through this extremely challenging time.
Foundational Research Conducted for Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County
March 15th, 2020 |
Rockport conducted a series of research studies for Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County to act as a foundation for strategic planning and ongoing visitor analysis. The studies included:
A visitor intercept surveys to profile visitors and assess their perceptions and attitudes around Annapolis as a destination and better understand key drivers of visitation.
An economic impact study: Rockport Analytics worked with Visit Annapolis to measure and analyze the full economic contribution that visitors made to the Anne Arundel County economy in 2018. Finding from this study show that Anne Arundel County welcomed 6.3 million visitors who spent more than $1.5 billion on travel-related goods and services. Of the $1.5 billion in visitor spending, nearly $1.2 billion was retained in the Anne Arundel County economy supporting more than 17,370 jobs and generating close to $343 million in tax receipts.
A resident sentiment survey: Rockport surveyed residents to gain residents’ perceptions of visitors and the impact they have on the local community.
An assessment of the short-term vacation rental (STVR) market: Rockport sized the market for short-term vacation rentals in the county and analyzed growth, composition, and the local tax revenue impacts the STVR market.
Download reports from the research here.
Global Travel Price Increases Set to Decelerate in 2020
August 5th, 2019 |
According to the sixth annual Global Travel Price Forecast, conducted by Rockport Analytics and published by GBTA and CWT, the growth in travel prices is expected to slow in 2020 with airfare rising only 1.2%, hotel rates 1.3%, and rental car rates 1%. The expectation for modest price increases is driven by constrained corporate travel demand, a result of slowing global growth, heightened economic and political uncertainty and declines in manufacturing and business confidence. Rockport Analytics provides a regional analysis of global markets including Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, and North America. (GBTA Blog, In The News)
The 2018-19 Orange Bowl Events are Significant Economic Drivers for South Florida
July 1st, 2019 |
Rockport’s analysis of the economic impact of the 2019 Orange Bowl Events, including the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl, estimates that more than $32 million was generated in new federal, state and local taxes by visitors from outside South Florida. The more than 67,000 non-residents who visited Miami-Dade and Broward Counties from May 2018 to April 2019 supported more than 1,500 annual full and part-time jobs that generated nearly $62 million in wages. Learn More.