Impact on Restaurants
"Tourism creates more opportunity for local restaurants, which in turn gives residents more diversity and choices for dining out. Tourists’ support of restaurants allows them to be open on more days and, therefore, more available to the local community."
-Xavier Teixido; Owner, Harry’s Savoy Grill and Ballroom

Impact on Retail
"Tourism and retail go hand-in-hand in Delaware. Our reputation as the home
of tax-free shopping is a draw for visitors from the surrounding states and
beyond."
-Rich Kenny, Delaware Retail Council Chairman

Impact on Accommodations
"Our hotel draws from VA, MD, NY, OH, PA and NJ and our visitors come year after year to enjoy the beach, boardwalk and create an overall positive impact on the local economy."
-Jennifer Zerby, Boardwalk Plaza Hotel

State Tourism Highlights
12.5 million visitors generate $1.8 billion in tourism sales a year in Delaware as they visit, vacation in, and travel through our state. Every dollar they spend triggers additional tourism-related expenditures and produces $163 million in state revenue from the hundreds of businesses and 23,000 employees that accommodate them. It’s a big business, and it’s a good business. And the influx of tourists benefits the state long after our "guests" are gone. As Delawareans, we enjoy a far richer variety of restaurants and retailers—as well as greatly enhanced cultural and natural resources—than we would if tourists weren’t invited and welcomed with enthusiasm. All of which makes tourism a business worth cultivating.

• New Castle County hosts approximately 1,230,000 visitors annually
• 59% of New Castle County visitors stayed over at least one night (725,740 in 2003)
• In 2003, the estimated 691,000 households who visited New Castle County spent an average of $268 per household (more than $185 million)
• The average traveling household had 1.7 people, with an average tourism expenditure of $157 per person

"Bringing in well over 1,000,000 visitors a year, sustainable tourism is a key component to our area's growing economy -- and greatly enhances the quality of life we enjoy."
-J. Harry Feldman; Executive Director,
Greater Wilmington (DE) Convention & Visitors Bureau

• In 2002, Kent County welcomed over 4.3 million gaming visitors, 85 percent of whom were from out of state
• Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge annually draws 170,000 visitors from around the world and over one million migratory birds from the Atlantic flyway
• Tourism is responsible for 7% of all employment in Kent County
• Over 240,000 visitors come to Kent County for each NASCAR weekend in June and September

"From the roar of NASCAR to the ‘clip-clop’ of the Amish carts, Kent County’s quality of life is enhanced because of tourism."
-Linda Graham; Manager, Sheraton Dover

• Sussex County shoulder season events attract over 300,000 people to the region annually
• Over 6.5 million people visit Sussex County each year, with half of the total visits occurring between October and June
• The total tourism expenditures in Sussex County are $709,129,800
  

"Tourism is the current that runs through and connects cash to business, business to employment, and employment to community improvement."
-Carol Everhart; Executive Director,
Rehoboth Beach & Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce