More tourists finding reasons to visit Hoosier state

INDIANAPOLIS – More people are finding reasons to visit the Hoosier state.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch says Friday in a release that Indiana’s tourism industry is in its seventh year of continued growth and set a record $12.7 billion in visitor spending in 2017.

Crouch has released a new study with the Indiana Office of Tourism Development that shows the growing impact tourism has on the state’s economy.

The report says that 80 million people visited destinations in 2017 in Indiana and that spending per visitor was about $158. Visitor spending added $9.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product with nearly 75 cents of every dollar staying in Indiana.

It also says that Indiana’s tourism industry supported nearly 200,000 jobs.

The study was commissioned by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.