FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Public/Media Relations Manager
228-388-2993
media@coastalmississippi.com

Longwoods International Report: Mississippi Gulf Coast Domestic Tourism Overview 2017

MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST (August 1, 2018) – Longwoods International has released its report providing an overview for the Mississippi Gulf Coast (MSGC) domestic tourism business in 2017. This study was commissioned by Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast, to provide the organization with more reliable data and current travel trends to the region, in order to determine an appropriate and effective marketing strategy, which is fundamental in the rebranding process.

The visitor research program is designed to provide: estimates of domestic overnight and day visitor volumes to the MSGC; a profile of MSGC’s performance with its overnight travel market; domestic visitor expenditures on the MSGC; profiles of MSGC day travel market and relevant trends in each of these areas. From a sample of 890 trips to the MSGC in 2017 (590 overnight; 326 day trips), Longwoods International included the following key findings:

  • In 2017, Mississippi Gulf Coast had 13.5 million visitors, increasing 6.3% from 2015. The Mississippi Gulf Coast grew about twice the national growth thus increasing its market share.  Of the trips to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, 57% were day trips and 43% were overnight trips.
  • These trips generated $1.17 billion in spending, increasing 9.2% from 2015.
  • The average number of nights spent in Mississippi Gulf Coast on an overnight trip was 2.5 nights, down from 3.3 nights in 2016. The average travel party size was 2.7 persons.
  • The main purpose of 38% of leisure trips was to visit casinos, which is significantly higher than the US norm of 4%.

“This research is essential to the marketing efforts of Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast as it demonstrates key travel trends and highlights areas in which we have a tremendous opportunity to grow on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It gives us a greater ability to home in on key market segments of interest,” said Milton Segarra, CEO of Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast. “Our industry accounts for one-third of the total hospitality industry activity in the entire state of Mississippi. The key findings from this 2017 study provide a phenomenal insight into the current state of the region’s domestic tourism business, and they will be greatly taken into consideration as we devise our marketing strategies going forward.” said Segarra.

For the full Longwoods International report, please visit:
https://res.cloudinary.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/gulfcoast/2017_Visitor_Study_7cac1066-16be-41cb-8420-cc720b47b06f.pdf

Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast is an organization charged with promoting South Mississippi as a tourism and convention destination worldwide. Its mission centers on attracting ever-increasing numbers of leisure, convention, sports and business visitors to the area. It is dedicated to maximizing the travel and tourism industry for South Mississippi. Visit gulfcoast.org to learn more.

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