Last year showed a dramatic improvement in Coronado’s economic health – with visiting groups producing $113.5 million in direct spending and a total economic impact of $164.1 million – according to a sweeping 2022 economic impact report released by Discover Coronado.
According to Todd Little, executive director of Discover Coronado, the city’s official destination marketing organization, the new study documents a surge in pent-up demand for conventions in Coronado following the lean years of the COVID-19 pandemic. “2022 was a very good year for Coronado, with the total economic impact of group travel sustaining 950 jobs on Coronado Island and generating $8.2 million in local tax revenues,” he said.
Other findings:
- The overall hotel occupancy rate recovered to 66.1% in calendar year 2022 due to a resurgence in group meeting occupancy.
- Group occupancy more than doubled to 27.5% in 2022. Coronado hosted over 74,000 group meeting attendees last year, a 141% increase from 2021. That total is still 22% lower than 2018.
- Group meeting attendees represent $1,524 in revenue on average during their convention, about $401 per visitor, per day.
- Due to the pandemic, group room nights plummeted 76% in 2020, and although that figure rose 66% in 2021, it remained historically weak. Group room demands’ recovery began in earnest in 2022, with a 140% rise from 2021.
- Groups alone support 11% of all jobs in Coronado. A total of 950 jobs were directly sustained by business travelers to Coronado in 2022.
- The 165,908 group room nights in 2022 generated $66.4 million in lodging spend and $113.5 million in total visitor spending, including transportation, restaurants, retail, recreation, and other services.
- Including the supply chain and the local spending of earned income groups generated $164.1 million in economic activity in 2022.
- Based on data from Oxford Economics, a leading research firm, the study verifies the important economic impact of group meetings and conventions in Coronado – and the subsequent effect on nearby businesses, job creation and taxes collected by the city.
Little notes that group travel is a vital economic engine since it funds the City of Coronado’s collection of Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT), projected to reach $12 million for 2022. “The TOT funds critical community services in Coronado such as the local police and fire departments, libraries, park and recreation programs and grants for local organizations,” he said. For this reason, “Coronado’s economic health is dependent on a substantial, but carefully managed, group travel sector – a critical driver of our city’s future.”
It’s also important to note, he said, that “group meetings, by nature, have minimal impact on the city. Most group attendees arrive via coaches, minimizing traffic and parking demand. And conventions typically take place in the middle of the week, between Labor Day to Memorial Day (the off-season for local businesses.)”
To view the report visit DiscoverCoronado.com/Impact.
