Visitor Spending Contributed $157.8 Million to Fremont County for Fiscal Year 2021-2022
Tuesday, September 20, 2022—Wind River Country, Wyoming — As the busy tourism season wraps up in Wyoming, the Wind River Visitors Council is sharing spending data for fiscal year 22 (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022), which includes $1,016,610.77 in lodging tax collections.
“Fremont County saw a fantastic year in terms of visitor spending and lodging tax collections,” said Helen Wilson, Executive Director for the Wind River Visitors Council. “Tourism is a major economic driver for our local communities and businesses, and fiscal year 2021/2022 was record-breaking for our region.”
Visitor spending in Fremont Canyon contributed $157.8 million to the local economy where it touches a variety of business sectors, including dining, lodging, entertainment, gasoline, shopping and more.
During the fiscal year 2021/2022, visitors spent the following:
- $30.7 million was spent in restaurants (up 16.9% from 2020)
- $27.8 million was spent in lodging (up 56.4% from 2020)
- $21.6 million was spent in arts, entertainment and recreation (up 16% from 2020)
- $19.9 million was spent in gas and local transportation (up 54.7% from 2020)
- $17.4 million was spent in shopping (up 17.6% from 2020)
- $9.8 million was spent in food stores (up 18.8% from 2020)
- $1 million was spent in visitor air travel (up 20.7% from 2020)
Tourism also helped support 1,460 jobs and generated $54.2 million in wages, which was an increase of 50 jobs from the previous fiscal year.
Throughout the year, the Wind River Visitors Council markets Fremont County and the Wind River Indian Reservation through funding from the four percent lodging tax, with projects and initiatives that include audio tours, events, marketing campaigns, social media, influencer partnerships, public relations, FAM tours and more.
In addition to promoting Fremont County as a tourism destination, the Wind River Visitors Council has a Tourism Asset Development (TAD) program that gives 25% of the local lodging tax back to local communities in the percentage that they contribute to the lodging tax. Funds are returned to the chamber of commerce offices in Lander, Riverton and Shoshoni; Town Hall in Hudson; and Destination Dubois to market their communities through efforts that include events, grants, educational programs and more.
To learn more about the Wind River Visitors Council, as well as the positive impacts of the TAD program, visit WindRiver.org/contact-us/about.
About Wind River Country
The Wind River Visitors Council is the designated marketing organization for Fremont County and is responsible for promoting travel and tourism throughout the county. The organization is funded through the lodging tax. Wyoming’s Wind River Country is a destination that includes wide-open spaces, sweeping landscapes, incredible history and the communities of Atlantic City, Dubois, Hudson, Jeffrey City, Lander, Riverton, Shoshoni, South Pass City and the Wind River Indian Reservation. More information can be found at WindRiver.org or on social media at Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as #WindRiverCountry.
