Nebraskans and visitors to Nebraska together made 19.3 million trips in the state in 2010 to destinations 100 miles or more away from home. For trips by visitors, the leading states of origin were, in order, Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, South Dakota, Illinois, and Minnesota.

Tourism is Nebraska’s third-largest earner of revenue from outside the state after agriculture and manufacturing.

Travelers spent almost $4.0 billion in Nebraska during 2010 on trips away from home with overnight stays in paid accommodations and on day trips to places 100 miles or more away. Annual spending in Nebraska on these trips has increased by over $2.3 billion since 1990.

Over 60 percent of the nonresidents visiting Nebraska during the summer stay at hotels or motels. The state has over 28,000 hotel, motel, and bed and breakfast rooms, which had an average annual occupancy rate of 54 percent in 2010 and offered the nation’s 8th lowest average room costs.

The average nonresident traveling party visiting Nebraska by highway during the summer consists of 2.4 persons who stay 2.2 nights in the state and spend $452. Over a third of the nonresident traveling parties go to attractions or events, and for each attraction or event visited, they average a half-day longer in Nebraska, spending an additional $104.

Jobs attributable to travel spending in Nebraska totalled 45,600 in 2010.