BEMIDJI-The first report in a yearlong study on area tourism was presented during a Visit Bemidji meeting Wednesday.
Data for the study is being collected by the University of Minnesota Tourism Center, with the work starting last December and ending Nov. 30. Visit Bemidji, the city's convention and visitors bureau, contracted with the university for the study to better understand characteristics of tourists, help inform marketing decisions and enhance local tourism offerings.
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While the study will take in data for an entire year, though, the work has been divided into quarters, with surveys conducted each season. During Wednesday's meeting, information from the first quarter survey conducted in winter was presented.
According to the results compiled, most of the visitors to the area in the winter months were either Baby Boomers or belonged to Generation X, with an average age of 46. Of the 325 individuals surveyed, nearly 77 percent were from Minnesota.
"Minnesota is the best consumer of its own product," Tourism Specialist and Extension Professor Daniel Erkkila said at the meeting. "The number usually is always around that 80 percent level."
North Dakota followed with 13 percent and then Iowa with 2.56 percent. The report also showed that the Bemidji area attracted individuals from Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
As for specific locations, the top zip codes in the study included those in the Grand Forks, N.D. and East Grand Forks area, the Fargo, N.D. and Moorhead area, Park Rapids, Big Lake, Elk River and Crookston.
"We're incredibly pleased with the report, because it has confirmed what we thought our target areas were," Visit Bemidji Executive Director Susan Goudge said. "This really brings it back that we are on target and that we are bringing in that 80 percent from within our own state."
Bringing visitors to Bemidji in the winter months, according to the study, were sporting events. Following that category, other draws to area included visits to family and friends, outdoor recreation and business trips.
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The study revealed that dining and lodging are the two largest spending categories. Nearly 80 percent of visitors stayed at hotels, as opposed to the home of a friend or relative, a vacation home or a resort. The average number of nights spent in Bemidji was 2.5.
Erkkila said Wednesday that the spring quarter finished at the end of May and that a report for that season will likely be out in the next three weeks. When a quarter ends, Erkkila said it usually takes about a month to get all of the data together and put it in a report.
As the seasons change, Erkkila added that future reports will reflect large changes in visitors coming to the area.
"When I looked at this, I saw that we're picking up a lot of people who are just coming up here to do winter activities," Erkkila said. "But in the summer, it's going to look really different."
The last quarter of the study will review visitor activity in fall. The fourth quarter report is expected in January while the final report covering the whole year will likely be out in March 2019.
