Tourism Matters
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TOURISM
MATTERS
Visit Boise is the official Destination Organization responsible for promoting all segments of tourism and recruiting visitors to the region.
Tourism is the 3rd largest industry in Idaho
following Agriculture and Technology
(source: Costar December 2025)
Hotel Overnight Stay Collections for Region 3
brought in over $224M* in revenue.
That would equate to $13.4M in 6% State Sales Tax, which goes back to the city/county. And that’s just for lodging – not food and beverage, retail, attractions!
(source: Costar December 2025)
ECONOMIC IMPACT
OF TRAVEL:
-
- Direct Travel Spending: $2.43 billion
# of Jobs Supported: 17,980
(source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Estimates by Dean Runyan, 2023)
- Direct Travel Spending: $2.43 billion
-
- Tax Revenue (direct travel generated):
$162.4 million state and local tax receipts generated from travel spending;
$19.4 million local tax revenue;
$143 million state tax revenue
- Tax Revenue (direct travel generated):
-
- Without hotel room tax collection, local households would pay an extra $649 in state and local taxes.
(source: Dean Runyan Idaho Tourism Economic Impact)
- Without hotel room tax collection, local households would pay an extra $649 in state and local taxes.
VISITOR STATS:
Top Reasons visitors come to Southwestern Idaho:
o Shopping
o Site seeing
o Attending celebration
o Hiking/backpacking
o Swimming
Top Activities of Special Interest:
o Historic places
o Cultural Activities
o Brewery Tours/Beer Tasting
Winery tours/Tasting
o Agriturism
Top cities of origin for overnight trips:
o Salt Lake City, UT
o Spokane, WA
o Portland, OR
o Twin Falls, ID
o Los Angeles, CA
o Seattle-Tacoma, WA
o Idaho Falls-Pocatello, ID
AIR TRAVEL INFO:
Boise Airport is served by eight airlines that offer nonstop flights to 27 destinations with easy one-stop connections to over 350 cities worldwide
(source: Boise Airport)
2025 Air Passenger Stats:
· 5,229,399* passengers through Boise Airport in 2025
· 47.2% live farther than 150 miles away which means 2.4 million travelers through the airport were visitors.
(source: Boise Airport/Zartico)
VISIT BOISE MARKETING:
Visit Boise spends over $1.75 million annually attracting overnight visitors to our hotel rooms in the Boise area for meetings, corporate, sports and leisure travelers.
Hospitality Businesses receive a complimentary business listing on VisitBoise.com which connects businesses to more than 1.2 million pageviews per year.
Visit Boise offers real time rates and availability search for any lodging property located within the Greater Boise Auditorium District boundaries at Booking.VisitBoise.com through the aRes platform.
SPONSORSHIPS:
Visit Boise earns a solid ROI
Over 30 events were supported through sponsorships in 2025 that generated an estimated $72 Million in Economic Impact.
For every dollar spent there was a return of $166.
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
In 2025:
- – Generated over 266 million total media impressions
- – Conducted 43 media hosting, phone/virtual briefings
- – Generated 50 total media placements
- – Partnered with 79 industry partners for earned media coverage
SALES:
In 2025:
- Visit Boise team worked 407 qualified leads, securing 172 meetings, conventions, sports and special events, generating 111,200 room nights and an estimated economic impact of $49 million
Curious about more?
Newsroom
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LEARN MOREAnnual Report
Tourism is the third largest industry in Idaho. See how Visit Boise is aiding economic growth.
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