Quad Cities Visitor Spending Increases, Surpasses Record Levels

Quad Cities, IL/IA (October 25, 2024) - Visitor spending in the Quad Cities has continued to grow in 2023 per Tourism Economics, bringing significant economic benefits to the region. Visitor spending and tourism provide positive benefits for local households, businesses, the hospitality industry, and the public sector. This increase is driven by overnight hotel stays, day trips, meetings, conventions, sporting events, and group tours. The Quad Cities saw a 5% year-over-year increase in total visitor spending, reaching $1.37+ billion in 2023 and supporting 9,346 jobs in the region.

“Tourism continues to deliver results for our regional destination on many levels,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO of Visit Quad Cities. “Visitor spending through non-resident revenues is vital for our region’s economic growth and prosperity as well as quality of life. Year-over-year growth in visitor spending and tax generation at both the local and state levels proves that destination sales, marketing, and promotion work for the Quad Cities. Our visitor economy and the jobs that are supported by tourism are critically important to our regional economy. However, as the market softens, continued investments in tourism promotion and destination marketing are essential to maintain this momentum.”

The Quad Cities’ total visitor spending increased by 5% in 2023, reaching a record level of $1.3+ billion, with local tax generation growing to $76.61+ million and state tax generation to $85.62+ million. Rock Island County grew year-over-year in direct visitor spending by 7.2% beating the state average of 6.5%. Scott County realized an increase of 6.2% in direct visitor spending year-over-year against the state average of 5.1%. 



While the Quad Cities realized positive year-over-year growth in visitor spending and tax generation, the travel and tourism industry nationwide and locally are expected to face challenges in the future. Visit Quad Cities along with experts from the U.S. Travel Association, Tourism Economics, CoStar as well as other industry leaders, are predicting that the domestic travel market is softening. To mitigate these potential impacts, continued investment in tourism marketing and promotion will be essential for sustaining growth and maintaining a competitive edge.
In 2021, Tourism Economics introduced a new methodology for reporting county-level tourism data. This updated approach offers a more detailed understanding of local economic impacts, including visitor spending, job creation, and tax revenue. Data for 2020 reflected a sharp decline in tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but 2023 shows sustained growth as the industry rebounds. 2024 data will be released in fall 2025.

Data Sources:

The 2023 numbers come from the Iowa Tourism Office and the Illinois Office of Tourism. Data is provided by Tourism Economics, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (ILDCEO), and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA).
In addition to the reports provided by Iowa and Illinois, Visit Quad Cities is a member of the U.S. Travel Association and uses its data to measure and analyze tourism performance in the market. Other business intelligence tools include:

• Event Impact Calculator (EIC): The Destinations International (DI) Event Impact Calculator draws on different data sources to provide an industry-wide standard. These sources include industry-wide studies, destination organization-provided data, and government data into the calculator's underlying model. These data sources are updated annually to provide destinations with the most current results.
• CoStar: Founded in 1987, CoStar Group is a global leader in providing real estate data and analytics. Through its acquisition of Smith Travel Research (STR) in 2019, CoStar has significantly enhanced its offerings for the hospitality sector, providing premium data on hotel occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR. STR, founded in 1985, has been the trusted source for benchmarking performance in the global hotel industry. Together, CoStar and STR deliver comprehensive insights that empower hospitality professionals to make data-driven decisions and optimize business strategies. For more information, visit CoStarGroup.com.
• Datafy: Datafy uses mobile devices and geofencing to gather data on each visitor 16 years or older. Visit Quad Cities is currently tracking visitation from 2018 to the present day. The data collected provides visitation numbers, demographics, visitor spending, interests, length of stay, and where they stay. Additionally, Visit Quad Cities can track various timeframes to see visitation trends and growth.

At its recent annual Destination QC! event, Visit Quad Cities shared its annual Destination Impact Report and how tourism is a critical part of the Quad Cities regional economy. By securing group business, advocacy efforts, and data-driven destination marketing tools that generate visitation, tourism is essential for the Quad Cities economy.