Tourism continues to deliver for the Port Aransas economy and way of living in Port Aransas, Texas, according to a newly-released economic impact study commissioned by the Port Aransas Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce. Port Aransas visits and visitor spending reached record levels in 2022.
The study, conducted by Philadelphia-based Tourism Economics (a division of Oxford Economics), showed more than 1,050,000 traveled to Port Aransas in 2022, which was a 637,000 increase since 2018.
“Port Aransas represents the true Texas coast that so many people are finding new ways to enjoy,” said Brett Stawar, President & CEO of the Port Aransas Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce. “The addition of new amenities, investment in vacation rentals, and the many rebuilt since 2017 positioned Port Aransas to perform quite well during the pandemic.”
Visitor spending reached $372 million in 2022, reaching nearly double 2019 levels. In addition, the $372 million spent by visitors generated another $192 million in indirect and induced impacts resulting in a total economic impact of $563 million in the Port Aransas economy.
“The visitor economy generated more than half of a billion dollars in 2022 and that’s quite incredible,” Stawar added. “In direct spending by our visitors alone, we saw approximately $1 million a day come into Port Aransas throughout the entire year. That’s quite a feat for a town that is just over 14 square miles.”
Visitor activity sustained a total of 4,925 jobs in 2022, including 3,632 direct jobs and 1,292 jobs supported through indirect and induced impacts. The visitor activity generated $88 million in direct labor income for workers and a total of $244.6 million which includes indirect and induced impacts.
Visitor spending, visitor-supported jobs, and business sales generated $95.8 million in government revenues. State and local taxes alone tallied $63.2 million in 2022, compared to $32.5 million in federal taxes. Each occupied household in Port Aransas would need to be taxed an additional $43,800 to replace the visitor-generated state and local taxes received by the Port Aransas local government in 2022.
“Tourism has always been the economic driver of Port Aransas,” said City of Port Aransas Mayor Wendy Moore. “For generations, people have anchored here in Port A for their family vacations, and many have chosen to live here with us. Port A is truly one of the best beach town destinations in the entire Gulf and throughout the nation. The future for Port Aransas looks very bright, and we’re working hard from a city level to ensure it continues to be one of the best places to live, work, and visit.”
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