STRICTLY BUSINESS: MISSOURI'S TOP 1998 TOURIST ATTRACTION? MARK MCGWIRE

Tourism is big business in Missouri, contributing significantly to the economy, with benefits filtering into every county.

Traveler spending in the Show Me State has topped the $10 billion mark each of the past couple of years.

Tourism statistics reveal that shopping is the big attraction for almost one third of the visitors to state, with other visitor activity including historic places, museums, cultural events, festivals and sporting events. Other spending includes theme parks, lodging, transportation, souvenirs, and during most recent years, gambling.

The tourism industry in the state annually generates almost $4 billion in taxes, including both state and local.

The tourism industry also provides more than 200,000 jobs directly involved in the industry.

There's a "ripple-like" effect to the tourism industry. This "ripple" is responsible for an additional 80,000 jobs, and another $6 billion to the state's economy. More than 10,000 manufacturing and 4,000 construction jobs are generated by the spending of tourists. And tourism stimulates other non-tourism industries such as agriculture, fishing, food processing, brewing and distilling.

Each year, the state looks back and assesses why out-of-state visitors selected the Show-Me state to spend their vacation dollar.

From year-to-year, tourism organizations undertake studies and conduct surveys to determine the nation's top tourist attractions, and each year, Missouri always has a lot of contenders -- The Gateway Arch, Bass Pro Shops, scenic riverways and lakes, Mark Twain folklore attractions.

This year, it doesn't take much effort to determine Missouri's top tourist attractions for 1998:

-- St. Louis baseball Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire.

McGwire's accomplishment of topping Roger Maris' 37-year-old Major League single season home run record -- an opportunity to see a notable baseball record fall.

Such a feat can't be reduced to mere dollars and cents, says Joseph L. Driskill, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED). But, there were plenty of dollar spent.

According to the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association (RCGA), McGwire's march to the home record contributed more than $460 million in economic benefit to the St. Louis region alone.

This was despite a lackluster season for the Cardinals. But, ticket sales were up by more than 20 percent as fans turned to watch McGwire chase the record. Sellouts at Busch Stadium continued to the final game of the season, when the McGwire hammered two homers to hit the 70 mark.

Higher ticket sales, say RCGA and DED officials meant more cash registers ringing all over St. Louis.

Merchants in St. Louis, and as far south as Cape Girardeau, reported that anything with McGwire's name, face, or jersey numbers sold.

St. Louis restaurant sale were up as much as 40 percent on the days of home games, and hotels booked hundreds of additional room.

This was just the St. Louis area.

Wherever the Cardinals and McGwire traveled, baseball stadiums reported sell-out crowds.

Some say that the McGwire craze was a "one shot deal," and that once McGwire's number 25 jersey is retired in the Busch Stadium outfield, the luster will be gone.

Driskill disagrees.

Many baseball fans might not have considered visiting Missouri had it not been for the home-run chase, but Driskill feel that "once people visit Missouri, there's a good chance they'll find something that will make them wanted to come back."

During the weekend McGwire belted home runs 60, 61, and 62 in St. Louis, baseball fans from all over the world were riveted to their televison sets.

"Every one of those fan saw scenes of the Gateway Arch, and the St. Louis Riverfront," said Driskill. "This the kind of publicity most convention and visitor bureaus only dream of."

We'll be looking forward to next spring and watching Mark McGwire continuing to hit his towering home runs.

He may not reach 70 again. Nobody may reach 70 again, but don't bet against McGwire reaching a fourth straight 50 home-run season, or even a second-straight 60-homer season.

Meanwhile, listen for the jingle of cash registers in the St. Louis area.

In Illinois, tourism is a $16 billion-plus industry, and Illinois officials predict tourism will continue to grow to a $25 billion business by 2000.

We haven't seen the totals yet, but it's good bet that Sammy Sosa did for Chicago what McGwire did for St. Louis. Sosa finished the seasond with 66 home runs and helped lead his Chicago Cubs to a playoff berth in the National League.

Cape Girardeau County receives big benefits from the industry. Travelers spend more than $40 million a year in the county, while providing more than 800 jobs with an annual payroll of more than $23 million.

In the 13-county Southeast Missouri area -- which includes Cape Girardeau, Perry, and Scott counties -- tourism generates more than $1.5 billion to the economy, with visitors spending more than $200 million a year.

Tourist spending in the lower seven or eight Southern Illinois counties total more than $120 million a year. Many of these dollars are spent during the annual goose-hunting season in a four-county -- Williamson, Alexander, Union and Jackson -- area.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.