Tourism Grows in Hendricks County
Construction on the Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center in Plainfield is expected to be complete in 2018.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA study from Pennsylvania-based Rockport Analytics says visitor spending in Hendricks County totaled $244.7 million in 2015, a 2.3 percent increase from the previous year. Visit Hendricks County says tourism resulted in nearly $200 million in total economic impact.
The study was commissioned by Visit Hendricks County and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development. Visitor spending supported nearly 5,000 jobs and generated nearly $60 million in tax revenue, according to the study. Hendricks County ranked 10th in the state for tourism in 2015.
Jaime Bohler Smith, executive director of Visit Hendricks County, says they are looking for even more growth in the future, especially with the new Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center in Plainfield. The facility, which includes 20,000 square-feet of conference space, is scheduled to open in 2018
"We’ve seen notable tourism growth correlating to our efforts in increasing the awareness of Hendricks County as a travel destination for the past 15 years, but now we have a game changer," said Smith. "We have worked to bring a conference center to Hendricks County for over a decade, and to finally see that day nearly here, it moves the needle forward for the destination. It changes the group of people we can talk to. It changes the type of business we can go after."
Visit Hendricks County says tourism is the county’s seventh largest industry, excluding government.