New study finds tourism paints complex fiscal story in Chelan County

The findings of a more than year-long Chelan County Tourism Impact Study were detailed to the county commissioners on Monday.

The insight comes from community meetings in Chelan and Leavenworth, and opinions from local businesses, stakeholders and 760 on-line survey respondents.

The study looked at tourism between 2019 and 2024. In the the final year of data, 2.6 million visitors came to Chelan County.

Chelan County ranks first, per-capita, among Washington State counties for numbers of tourists and economic impact, due in part to the county's central geographic location.

"Eight million people have access, if you go to a five-mile driving range, it's 15 million," the study's project manager Brian Murphy reported.

In 2024, tourists spent $675.5 million, supporting over $1 billion in business sales. For every $100 spent directly by a tourist, an additional $48 was generated in local economic activity.

"This level of spending positions Chelan County as seventh in the state in terms of total visitor spending and first, in terms of spending per-capita," said consultant Madelina Kalen. "Without the contribution of visitors, maintaining the current economic base would require every household in Chelan County to spend an additional $22,000 annually at local establishments."

"Tourism is perceived to drive up the cost of living and that high cost of living becomes a barrier to work force recruitment and retention for tourism businesses," Kalen added.

The study said that 1 in 12 jobs are tourism related, an estimated 6,700 total employment, averaging $34,000 annual income.

Tourists bring sales and lodging tax revenues to the county and its communities, with the added expenses of providing public services, maintaining roads and infrastructure.

High seasonal visitor influx places a substantial strain on infrastructure especially in tourism dependent cities like Chelan and Leavenworth with increased traffic and disproportionate costs for public safety and emergency services.

The study showed that in 2024 there was a total of $71 million generated from state and local taxes. Approximately 40% came from local sales and lodging taxes.

"That revenue provides a massive subsidy to local residents," Kalen shared.

The effect from tourism on housing stock and affordability.

"Your median income household has only 60% of the income necessary to afford that median priced house," according to consultant Dawn Couch. "The housing affordability challenge that people are experiencing is real."

"Short term rentals have a relatively minor impact on housing costs," Couch added. "Overall short term rentals actually don't drive changes in housing prices."

The analysts found that tourism has a large impact on natural areas and suggested that local leaders invest in campaigns that help educate visitors to being responsible stewards of the land. Also indicated by the study was an attachment by residents to the areas agricultural roots and found an interest in protecting future changes to the landscape from tourism activities.

"Tourism is so deeply intertwined in your economy and your communities that it's impossible to think about extracting it," Murphy concluded.