The industry saw more tourist spending and tourism-related hiring — but spending on transportation was down.
Oregon had a moderately good year for tourism in 2024 with a total economic impact of $14.3 billion, which built on gains in 2023 and 2022.
Employee earnings were up last year, buoyed by increased visitor spending in lodging and food. But the bright picture was dulled by a significant drop in spending on transportation and gas.
The increase of 1.1% in total economic impact in Oregon in 2024 comes from the latest figures of Travel Oregon, aka the Oregon Tourism Commission, a semi-autonomous state agency. “Oregon’s tourism industry continues to be a strong pillar of Oregon’s economy,” reads its 2024 report.
Travel Oregon CEO Todd Davidson was unavailable for comment.
Though inflation was a significant factor from 2020 to 2022, 2023 saw significant price decreases for consumers that continued into 2024, including lower gas prices, the report stated. More than 4 million people flew to Oregon last year, which is still around 218,000 below the peak set before the pandemic in 2019.
In 2024, the state economy added 480 travel-generated jobs, or an increase of .4%, to bring the sector’s total employment to 121,020 jobs. The amount earned by employees and owners in the tourism industry grew to nearly $4.7 billion, a 3.0% increase over 2023.
In 2024, the amount of money spent directly on travel increased by 1.1% year over year, rising from $14.2 billion to $14.3 billion. The largest increase in spending came in food service — $154 million — and accommodations — $82 million. The largest reduction in spending came from local transportation and gas, which saw a decrease of $114 million.
As for where in Oregon tourists went, figures for 2024 remained in line with previous years. The majority of tourism spending occurred in the Portland region, where tourists spent $5.5 billion, followed by the Willamette Valley ($2.6 billion), the Oregon Coast ($2.5 billion), Southern Oregon ($1.4 billion) and Central Oregon ($1.3 billion).
In-state tourism accounted for about 37% of visitor spending in Oregon in 2024. U.S. residents of states other than Oregon accounted for approximately 57% while international visitors accounted for approximately 6% of travel spending in the state, a significant increase over the 2023 figure of 4% for international visitors.
Visitors from Washington spent the most with $3 billion followed by California with $2 billion, Idaho ($1.1 billion), Arizona ($.3) and Michigan ($.2 billion).
The state received $26 million more in tax revenue in 2024 than in 2023, an increase of 1.7%. Local government tax revenue grew by 2.6% or $7 million or while state taxes increased 2.8% or $11 million.
Nationally, tourism spending was up $1.3 billion or 4.6%. Travel from Asia was up in 2024 with smaller increases from Latin America and Europe, while travel from Canada and Mexico was down slightly.
The report was prepared by Portland economic consultancy Dean Runyon Associates.
Disclosure: A separate division of Oregon Business’ parent company, MEDIAmerica, contracts with Travel Oregon to produce some travel publications.
