Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut Office of Tourism recently announced the results of an economic impact study of the tourism industry in Connecticut, showing total direct and indirect business sales supported by the travel industry reached $14.7 billion in 2015 – a 4.6 percent increase since 2013.

The study also shows that tourism employment grew 2 percent since 2013 to reach 82,688 jobs in 2015, the fifth straight year of employment growth.

“The tourism sector is one of the major drivers of Connecticut’s economy,” Malloy said in a statement. “It creates jobs, highlights the fantastic array of cultural and entertainment venues in the state, and contributes to our high quality of life. Based on the results of this analysis, there can be no doubt that our strategic investment in tourism is fueling economic growth.”

Other key findings from the study, which focused on the impact of the industry during the 2015 calendar year, include:

• Direct traveler spending totaled $8.7 billion in 2015, up 5.1 percent from 2013 and up 3.3 percent annually over the past five years.
• Traveler spending increased across Connecticut from 2014 to 2015.
• Travel generated $1.7 billion in tax revenues in 2015, including $910 million in state and local taxes and $778 million in federal taxes.

The full report is available here.