The Children’s Museum’s 2005 economic impact at $58.2 million
due to increased overnight tourist visitation, study shows
Study also shows Indianapolis residents rank Museum #1
in importance for establishing Indiana’s reputation and image
INDIANAPOLIS – The Children’s Museum increased its economic impact as a vital cultural destination by attracting a larger percentage of out-of-town visitors to Central Indiana than in previous years, according to a recent study by Dr. Mark Rosentraub, Dean and Professor, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University.
The third in a series of economic impact studies commissioned by The Children’s Museum reported the Museum’s total direct economic impact at $58.2 million. The study measured museum expenditures, hotel spending, day trip visitor and overnight visitor spending, and spending by group members.
“The museum continues to be one of Indiana’s most important non-sports attractions and a major cultural asset for its ability to attract families to the area, both from within the state and across the Midwest,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO of The Children’s Museum.
“More than half of the out-of-town visitors to The Children’s Museum surveyed came to Indianapolis specifically to visit the Museum or chose the region for a vacation because the Museum was part of the tourist infrastructure, said Dr. Rosentraub.
Almost one-quarter of the out-of-town visitors surveyed came from another Midwestern state, and 14 percent of the visitors were from a Southern state or the Southeast. One of every five out-of-town visitors was from either Ohio or Kentucky, and a similar proportion was from Northeast Indiana.
“Tourists who visited The Children’s Museum in 2005 tended to stay longer and more often visited other attractions in the region further demonstrating the contribution of the Museum to increasing tourism in the state,” added Dr. Rosentraub.
Out-of-town visitors ranked the Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens as well as the regions malls and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the most popular places to visit after the Museum.
Visitors to the Museum from within the Indianapolis metropolitan area were asked to rank the importance of several different civic assets for Indiana’s reputation and image. The Children’s Museum was ranked highest for its contribution to the state’s reputation, followed by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the State’s Parks, the Indianapolis Colts, the Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis Zoo, Indiana State Museum and Conner Prairie. Encouragingly, no asset listed received an average score below 4.08 on a 5-point scale, according to the report.
“While our ability to attract tourists is important, we are equally proud that we can offer experiences for Central Indiana residents and continue to provide free and reduced admission programs to school groups and families from all economic backgrounds,” Dr. Patchen said.
The Museum’s contribution through free or reduced admission programs is $3.4 million. When combined with the dollar value placed on the Museum’s intangible value in establishing the area’s reputation by residents participating in the survey, the total economic impact rose to $63.9 million.
As part of the study, 380 adults were asked a series of questions during their visit to The Children’s Museum. Tourists accounted for 39.4 percent of visitors surveyed, an increase of 6.7 percent over the 2002 survey also conducted by Dr. Rosentraub. Tourists were defined as visitors from outside the nine-county Central Indiana area.
Of the 150 visitors from outside of the region interviewed, 88 percent were married (or had a partner) and 72 percent had one or more children under age 18. Sixty percent stayed in Indianapolis for at least two days (one night) and 18.3 percent reported stays of four days or more.
The study used very conservative measures of expenses and no multipliers to avoid inflating the economic value of the Museum, according to Dr. Rosentraub.
###
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is a non-profit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. The 433,000 square-foot facility houses 11 major galleries. Visitors can explore the physical and natural sciences, history, world cultures, and the arts, and see how dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago in Dinosphere: Now You’re in Their World. The Children’s Museum, situated on 13 acres of land in Indianapolis presents thousands of programs and activities each year. For more information about The Children’s Museum in English and Spanish, visit www.ChildrensMuseum.org .
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
2005 Economic Impact Study Quote Sheet
“The fact that the Children's Museum has a significant economic impact on
Indianapolis is certainly no surprise to me. The museum is often the reason
visitors come to Indianapolis, and it helps draw attention to all the other
great things we have to offer. It is one of the top-tier contributors to
our world-class-city status, and we benefit from its presence here every
single day,” Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson.
“The museum’s contribution to both the economic development and cultural programming in central Indiana is incredibly valuable, and indicative of the vital role arts and culture play here,” said Greg Charleston, president of the Arts Council of Indianapolis. “The Arts Council is embarking on a community-wide economic impact study this year and we look forward to further illustrating how important organizations like The Children’s Museum are to the local economy.” Charleston said the new study will be available in June 2007; completed in 2002, the first study reported nonprofit arts organizations contributed nearly $300 million to the local economy.”
“This economic impact study demonstrates and validates what we already have come to know -- that The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a visitor-driver and one of our major players in the Indianapolis tourism landscape,” said Bob Bedell, president & CEO of the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. "Indianapolis is fortunate to have this dynamic and ever-engaging museum that is widely known as a destination attraction on its own. Our leisure product is extremely strong and Indianapolis has developed a national reputation as a family-friendly destination due in large part to the professional
and dedicated leadership at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.” |
