Passengers wait on the Block Island ferryboat Anna C. in Old Harbor on Block Island in July 2024. The National Hotel is in the distance on the right. (Janine Weisman/Rhode Island Current)
The silver lining of inflation: Rhode Island’s tourism economy benefited from $5.6 billion in visitor spending in 2023, according to new research by a state commissioned consultant.
A presentation by international firm Tourism Economics for Rhode Island Commerce Corporation showed visitor spending grew more than twice as fast as the increase in the number of visitors in 2023. The 28.4 million people who traveled to the Ocean State in 2023 is 2.2% higher than the prior year, but their total spending on travel, food, lodging and entertainment grew 4.6% year-over-year.
That’s driven by demand growth as well as price hikes for commodities and services, according to the research.
More than one-quarter of the direct spending, 26%, stemmed from food and beverage sales. Lodging, including hotels, second houses and short-term rentals, was the second-highest expense, contributing $1.2 billion.