Mid-Missouri Business Week: the tourism industry

Last fiscal year, tourism brought a total economic impact of about $16.8 billion into the state of Missouri. There were nearly 313,000 jobs in the tourism sector including seasonal, part-time and full-time jobs.

Lori Simms, the director of the Missouri Division of Tourism, sat down with ABC 17’s Kirstie Crawford to talk about this impact on the state’s economy.

Simms said tourist attractions in the state include history and heritage sites, outdoor recreation and the big cities like St. Louis and Kansas City.

“The total economic impact looks at the residual effects of tourism spending,” Simms said. “Some of (the money) goes back into the local economy. . . Some of that money is put back into the state revenue coffers through taxes.”