Rhode Island Tourism Industry

• Rhode Island hosted 21.6 million visitors in 2020. A 17.5% decline over the prior year. The share of day visitors increased, as did those coming for leisure purposes. A national trend, international inbound travel was severely restricted in 2020, and significant declines were felt across the county both in terms of visitation and spending.

• The total traveler economy declined 30.6% in 2020, registering $4.9 billion. This includes visitor spending, tourism-related construction, and supporting industries.

• The traveler economy supported 66,402 jobs, including direct, indirect, and induced impacts.

• This represents 11.1% of all jobs in Rhode Island or 1 in 9 jobs.

• Direct visitor industry employment registered 28,412 in 2020, declining 27.8% from the prior year.

• Tourism in Rhode Island generated $1.3 billion in tax revenues in 2020, with $597 million accruing to state and local governments.

Reports

• Rhode Island Visitor Economic Impact Analysis 2020
• Rhode Island Visitor Economic Impact Analysis 2019

Useful Research Links

• U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics
• U.S. Census Bureau
• ITA National Travel & Tourism Office
• U.S. Travel Association (USTA)