During the past tourism season, The Last Green Valley, Inc. (TLGV) worked with Witan Intelligence Strategies to update its tourism impact survey for the National Heritage Corridor.  Since The Last Green Valley has its own unique geography (26 towns in Connecticut and 9 in Massachusetts) a customized intercept survey is required.  Visitor interviews were conducted at 22 sites on different occasions during the summer and fall of 2013.  The results were analyzed and compared with statistics gathered for the State of Connecticut.  

The Last Green Valley visitors are 66 percent day trippers, compared to Connecticut’s 35 percent.   In the past that figure was 74 percent, indicating a substantial increase in overnight stays to the region.  The average spending per party per trip is $349, an increase of 25 percent from the 2010 baseline survey.  Visitors make 5.5 trips per year to the region.

The economic value of each visiting party to The Last Green Valley annually is $2,477, an increase of 21 percent over the 2010 baseline.  The total economic impact of tourism to the National Heritage Corridor is $278 million for 2013, based on documented attendance figures of 1.9 million people.

Ninety-five percent of visitors to The Last Green Valley said that they have been here before and 91 percent are likely to return.  Those numbers are steady from 2010.  Seventy-eight percent reported a high degree of satisfaction with their visit to The Last Green Valley compared to a 75 percent rating for the State of Connecticut.

“The results of the 2013 survey clearly support what we have been saying all along – The Last Green Valley has a loyal customer base and the tourism industry is steadily growing in the National Heritage Corridor,” said Charlene Perkins Cutler, TLGV executive director and CEO.  “The really interesting fact emerging from the analysis this year is that 18-34 year olds have the greatest economic impact on the region, spending $426 per visit and making 8.7 visits per year.”

The Last Green Valley is a National Heritage Corridor – the last stretch of dark night sky in the coastal sprawl between Boston and Washington, D.C.  A dynamic nonprofit organization, TLGV is a steward of that special place, working to celebrate our heritage, conserve our natural resources and respect our working lands.

 

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