TOURISM STAYS A BIG BUSINESS FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AREA

Hundreds of tour buses and thousands of travelers crisscross Southeast Missouri each year.

Travel and tourism is big business in the 12-county Southeast Missouri area, which includes Cape Girardeau, Perry, and Scott counties.

More than $120 million are added to the economy in the 12-county area each year as a result of tourism. Other positive results include the generation of more than 2,400 jobs and over $6 million in state and local taxes.

In Cape County, visitors add more than $40 million to the economy each year by spending money on transportation, lodging, food, entertainment, recreation and incidentals. More than $2.3 million in state and local taxes are generated annually, and 863 jobs have been generated by travel and tourism.

Statewide, travel and tourism is Missouri's second-largest revenue-producing industry, surpassed only by manufacturing.

A recent study prepared for the Missouri Division of Tourism by the U.S. Travel Data Center in Washington, D.C., reveals that more than $6.2 billion were spent on travel and tourism in Missouri in 1990. The effect of travel and tourism on the Missouri economy is significant; it generates more than $735 million in federal, state and local taxes and provides jobs and income for more than 136,000 Missourians.

Travel contributes considerably to the economy, lifestyle and culture Missouri residents and visitors enjoy.

One of the most important benefits of travel and tourism is the employment the activity supports in each community. Many of the jobs are in food services, including restaurants and other eating and drinking places. In Missouri this amounts to more than 136,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of the state's employment.

Travel generates demand for many different goods and services and produces receipts for a number of different industries. Spending on public transportation appears to be the largest expenditure category, totaling more than $2 billion a year statewide, or about 34 percent of the total. Add another 6.8 percent for auto transportation and that places the overall transportation percentage at 40.8.

Food service ranks second, with 20 percent of the total, or about $1.2 billion.

Lodging accounts for 18 percent of the total, and incidentals gifts, souvenirs account for 7 percents. Entertainment and recreation accounted for about 7 percent of the totals.

Group tours have become a big plus for the travel and tourism industry.

Nationally, In 1986, 44.7 million escorted passengers spent $10.7 billion for transportation, food, lodging and admissions, according to SEA/Tourism Travel.

Four years later, those figures have increased significantly, to 60.7 million passengers who spent $13.8 billion in the U.S.

Group tours have also provided a boost to the Cape Girardeau area, said the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. Through November, 115 group tours were serviced by the CVB in Cape Girardeau, said a spokesperson for the CVB.

"There were probably other groups who stopped in Cape Girardeau," said the spokesperson.

The CVB works with tour groups, promoting tours of museums, historic homes and other attractions of interest in Cape Girardeau. More than 5,000 persons were included on the 115 tours serviced, which tabulates into a $392,286 economic impact on the city.

Following are totals compiled by the U.S. Travel Data Center. The county totals were based on the 1986 calendar year.

Cape Girardeau County: Travelers spent more than $40.5 million; directly generating 863 jobs and $2.3 million in state and local taxes.

Bollinger County: $2.5 million spent; 23 jobs; $29,000 in state and local taxes.

Butler County: $19.5 million spent; 389 jobs; $803,000 in taxes.

Dunklin County: $3.9 million spent; 41 jobs; $120,000 in taxes.

Madison County: $5.9 million spent; 73 jobs; $74,000 in taxes.

Mississippi County: $1.3 million spent; 16 jobs; $40,000 in taxes.

New Madrid County: $10.7 million spent; 207 jobs; $483,000 in taxes.

Pemiscot County: $5.3 million spent; 103 jobs; $240,000 in taxes.

Perry County: $5.4 million spent; 56 jobs; $239,000 in taxes.

Scott County: $19.1 million spent; 416 jobs; $1.1 million in taxes.

Ste. Genevieve County: $2.3 million spent; 30 jobs; $72,000 in taxes.

Stoddard County: $4.1 million spent; 59 jobs; $152,000 in taxes.

Southeast Missouri: $120.4 million spent; 2,276 jobs; $5.993,000 in taxes.

Missouri: $6.2 billion spent; 136,000 jobs; more than $280 million in local and state taxes.