By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Tourism accounted for nearly $2 billion in economic activity in the towns that make up the Princeton region in 2013, a record number that grew for the fourth year in a row, according to a report released Monday.
The Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Princeton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau commissioned the study, one that found growth in the food and beverage, shopping and recreation and entertainment sectors but a slight decline in hotel/lodging. The four years of overall growth has helped the region recover from the recession, with tourism-related spending up from 2007, when it was $1.7 billion.
Tourism expenditures totaled $1.98 billion, or up 3.6 percent, compared to 2012. Two businesswomen who attended the announcement at historic Morven said afterward the growth was a positive sign.
"I thought the report was good. It’s always encouraging when you hear that the numbers have gone up," said Lori Rabon, general manager of the Nassau Inn, the hotel in Palmer Square.
"I thought it was fantastic," said Mimi Omiecinski, owner of the Princeton Tour Company. "My company has grown consistently."
The Princeton region is defined as all of Mercer County and parts of Middlesex and Somerset counties. The study examined the economic activity of tourism — looking across all the different sectors — measuring dollars spent and the jobs those dollars support. In all, there are 35,800-tourism related jobs, up by 1,100 compared to 2012.
"The good news is that the economic impact of tourism is substantial and growing in our region and still outpacing the state’s averages," said John P. Thurber, chairman of the chamber board of directors.
Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes, speaking at the announcement, continued to tout the impact the Trenton-Mercer Airport has had. He cited how 18,800 passengers use the county airport weekly.
"The airport is so important," he said.
In New Jersey last year, some $38 billion was spent on tourism. In the Princeton region, the growth was not even, said Brian J. Tyrrell, the expert who conducted the study. Hotels/lodging was down around .1 percent.
Mr. Tyrrell cited how one of the region’s largest hotels, the Crowne Plaza in Plainsboro, was closed for renovation. Another factor in comparing last year to 2012 was the surge in hotel rentals during the last two months of 2012 after Superstorm Sandy, with displaced residents, Red Cross, FEMA and others renting rooms.
While hotel/lodging was counted 100 percent toward the overall $1.98 billion total, other sectors were not. In those cases, Mr. Tyrrell used a national average to count a percentage of spending in those sectors as tourism.
In that way, someone from Princeton going to eat at a restaurant on Witherspoon Street would not be counted as tourism spending.
In his remarks, Mr. Hughes touted the economic impact the upcoming Special Olympics games will have. He said athletes, their trainers and their families will be in the area — bringing their purchasing power with them.
"And they are going to bring economic activity like we haven’t seen in a long time in Mercer County," he said.
One challenge confronting Princeton officials is with bus tourists who stop in downtown Princeton for only 15 minutes, snap a few pictures and then get back on the bus without buying anything. Princeton is a mid-point spot for travelers visiting either New York or Philadelphia.
"We are leaving millions of dollars on the table for this county by not having a plan with not only just local and regional bus transportation services but the international as well," Ms. Omiecinski said.