As Jill Boggs likes to say, appEverything starts with a visit.app
The president and CEO of Visit Fort Wayne said that before people move to Fort Wayne or decide to open a business, they visit the city.
appAnd theyappre spending money while theyappre here,app she added.
Tourist spending in Allen County reached $995 million during 2023, when 8.8 million people visited for class reunions, weddings, vacations and other reasons, Boggs said. The total includes spending on retail, dining and accommodations, she said.
Allen County ranked No. 3 in the state that year for tourist spending, she said.
Although those totals donappt separate visitors who stayed in short-term rentals from those who rented hotel rooms, some data is available specific to short-term rentals.
AirDNA showed 809 active listings in 2023, a 100-listing jump from two years earlier. Demand for rooms was 49,422 nights last year, with an average stay of three nights. That was an increase of more than 3,000 nights compared to two years earlier.
Short-term rentals alone generated more than $6.45 million for owners last year, compared to $5.04 million in 2021, the data show.
Boggs noted that short-term rental hosts also collect the 8% innkeepers tax and other local taxes that go toward the Grand Wayne Centerapps operations budget and Visit Fort Wayneapps marketing budget.
Regardless of who owns short-term rentals app local residents or private equity firms app the city benefits from those who stay in them, Boggs said.
appThose room nights are full of people spending money in our community,app she said. appTheir economic impact is huge.app
