by Dr. Patrick Jones
The pandemic brought its challenges to the two counties. According to USA Facts, 284 residents have died since the start of the outbreak. Thousands became infected.
Yet economically, the two counties experienced a boom. This was certainly true in tourism. Since a summary measure of visitor spending is no longer available, the Trends approximates the direction of change in tourism via the “cleanest” measure available: taxable revenues at accommodations establishments.
Why clean? It is rare that residents of the two counties will spend for an overnight at a local hotel, motel or bed and breakfast. The revenues of these establishments then represent “new dollars” to the local economy. That is not the case of another large spending area by visitors: eating and drinking establishments. Their customer base is a mix of locals and visitors; consequently, using revenues from this industry would overstate the spending by visitors.
As indicator 1.2.1 reveals, spending on accommodations in the two counties jumped in years 2021 through 2023 over the years from 2004 through 2019. Spending grew by nearly 14% in 2021 over 2019, by 10% in 2022 over 2021 and by 7% in 2023 over 2022. (No comparison is made to 2020 which obviously bore the brunt of the downturn.)
The average growth rate for accommodation sales over the most recent three years? 10.1%. The average growth rate of accommodations sales in the two counties from 2004 thru 2019: 6.4%. Clearly, since 2021, the pace of visitor interest in the two counties has quickened. Interestingly, revenues at Douglas County’s accommodation establishments have recently outpaced those of Chelan County: 18.2% versus 10%.
But did the tourism sector, as proxied by accommodation sales, outpace the general economy of Chelan and Douglas Counties? Not really.
Average total taxable sales in 2021 through 2023 increased by 11%, as indicator 2.2.3 reveals. While total taxable retail sales do not encompass the entire economy -- think of the exceptions such as most food, agricultural sales and many service -- they are comprehensive. Consequently, tourism sales, by this measure, lagged slightly behind the overall pace of growth of the local economy.
When we turn to the data reports from the Washington Department of Revenue for comparable numbers in the eating and drinking establishments, we find a similar comparison. Taxable retail sales in this industry climbed, on average, by 10.4% in Chelan County and by an average of 9.7% in Douglas County over the past three years. (Again, 2019 is the basis of comparison for 2021.)
Consequently, it is a stretch to claim that local tourism has recently outperformed the general economy in the two counties. However, these average, year-over-year increases – whether for accommodations or for restaurants and bars - are still far greater than the historical trends. Whether the results for 2024 and upcoming 2025 show this strength remains an open question, however. It is this writer’s hunch that the spending will revert to the longer-term annual increases.