What Dean Runyan Associates does

Dean Runyan Associates is a Portland, Oregon-based tourism economics consulting firm founded in 1984 by Dean Runyan. The firm provides customized economic impact analysis, financial feasibility studies, forecasting, and real-time tourism analytics to government tourism agencies, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), parks, botanical gardens, cultural heritage sites, and event organizers. Its client base spans more than a dozen U.S. states and regional destinations, with long-tenured engagements such as Travel Oregon (since 2003) and Visit Temecula Valley (16+ years).

The firm's analytical foundation is its proprietary Regional Travel Impact Model (RTIM), an input-output economic model developed in 1984 that integrates federal, state, local, and private-sector tourism data sources with survey data to produce economic impact estimates at the county and regional level. RTIM is complemented by the TravelStats web-based data analytics platform, which hosts customizable dashboards for state tourism boards and DMOs and integrates with client KPI systems. The service portfolio comprises six offerings: Economic Impact Analysis (the core), Financial Feasibility Analysis, Forecasting Travel Trends, International Visitor Profile (delivered in partnership with XBorder Research Group), Travel Data Analytics (TravelStats platform), and Custom Research.

The business model is professional services with a recurring subscription component: engagements are typically custom-scoped, multi-year contracts with government clients, sold via direct consultative sales, industry referrals, and thought leadership. TravelStats introduces a SaaS-like recurring revenue layer. The firm employs approximately 7 people, is privately held by its founder, has no disclosed outside funding, and operates from a single Portland headquarters.

Name

Dean Runyan Associates

Legal name

Dean Runyan Associates

Website

https://deanrunyan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dean Runyan Associates is a Portland-based tourism economics consulting firm that uses its proprietary Regional Travel Impact Model (RTIM) and TravelStats platform to deliver economic impact analysis, forecasting, and feasibility studies to U.S. state tourism offices, DMOs, parks, and event organizers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Economic Research Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Reporting, Analytics & Program Optimization (BI/Benchmarking) (THAKAMAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Program Performance & KPI Dashboards (THACAOAB), Travel Program Analytics, Reporting & Benchmarking (THALAMAF)

Keywords

• Tourism economic analysis
• Travel impact forecasting
• Destination market research
• Financial feasibility consulting
• Travel data analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Economic Impact Analysis: Core service providing data on economic impact and benefits of tourism for states, regions, destinations, and events. Customized analysis using proprietary RTIM model.
2. Financial Feasibility Analysis: Analysis of market trends to determine financial feasibility of proposed urban facilities or recreational areas. Includes pro forma operating budgets, scenario planning, and market profiles.
3. Forecasting and Real-Time Analytics: Monthly and quarterly projections using latest industry and economic data. Includes real-time dashboards and key indicator forecasts.
4. TravelStats Platform Subscription: Web-based platform hosting research dashboards for state tourism boards and DMOs. Can be integrated into KPI dashboards with state-specific customization.
5. Custom Research Projects: Tailored research solutions for unique tourism projects including assistance with research organization and identifying collaboration partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Dean Runyan Associates is a tourism research consultancy that delivers customized economic impact analysis, financial feasibility studies, forecasting, and travel data analytics services to state tourism offices, destination marketing organizations, and facility operators. Its work is anchored by the proprietary Regional Travel Impact Model (RTIM), which combines federal, state, local, and private industry data with survey data to produce accurate estimates of tourism's economic contribution at local, county, regional, and state levels. The TravelStats web platform extends these services through online dashboards and KPI integration.

Product overview

Dean Runyan Associates is a tourism research firm offering a suite of consulting and data services centered on its proprietary Regional Travel Impact Model (RTIM), a statistical input-output model that analyzes the economic impact of travel and tourism. Its portfolio consists of six core service offerings: Economic Impact Analysis, Financial Feasibility Analysis, Forecasting Travel Trends, International Visitor Profile, Travel Data Analytics (powered by the TravelStats platform), and Custom Research. TravelStats serves as the firm's web-based data delivery platform, compiling research and enabling integration into KPI dashboards for state tourism boards and destination marketing organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Economic Impact Analysis Provides accurate and reliable data on the economic impact and benefits of tourism for states, regions, destinations, and events using the proprietary Regional Travel Impact Model (RTIM). The service is foundational and used by state tourism offices, DMOs, and event organizers to assess tourism's contribution to the economy.
• Financial Feasibility Analysis Analyzes destination markets and determines the financial feasibility of proposed urban facilities or recreational areas. Creates pro forma operating budgets, develops planning scenarios, and produces market profiles to support facility planning decisions for botanical gardens, parks, cultural heritage sites, and similar facilities.
• Forecasting Travel Trends Analyzes public and private data sources to develop key indicator forecasts and real-time dashboards. Provides monthly and quarterly projections of tourism industry performance, supporting state tourism offices and DMOs with timely insights for marketing and planning decisions.
• International Visitor Profile Analyzes international visitor patterns and identifies factors that contribute to local jobs, earnings, and taxes. Delivered through a partnership with XBorder Research Group, the service includes border crossing dashboards and in-depth reports broken out by industry type within tourism, helping destinations maximize the financial benefits of international visitation.
• TravelStats (Travel Data Analytics Platform) A live, web-based data analytics platform that compiles and regularly updates travel research for state tourism boards and DMOs. Can be integrated directly into client KPI dashboards and customized with state colors, flags, and branding. Supports state impacts, DMO impacts, and air visitation modules, and can be hosted publicly or privately.
• Custom Research Provides tailored research and solutions for unique tourism-related projects. Includes assistance with research organization, identification of potential collaboration partners, and specialized surveys and analyses such as the Oregon 2017 wildfires business impact survey conducted with Destination Analysts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Consistent yearly economic impact data enabling tracking of tourism industry health over time
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• XBorder Research GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDean Runyan Associates has partnered with XBorder Research Group to provide comprehensive analysis of international visitors' contributions to local jobs, earnings, and taxes. This partnership enables the company to offer international visitor profile services including border crossing dashboards and in-depth reports broken out by industry type within tourism.
• The Portico GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDean Runyan Associates served as a subcontractor for The Portico Group on the Hakone Gardens master plan project. The partnership involved reviewing financial and maintenance operations, conducting regional market analysis, and preparing revenue projections for the facility design.
• Studio OutsidemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRA joined forces with Studio Outside and several other firms (Partners & Sirny Architects, Kettelkamp & Kettlekamp, CCS, EDI) to develop a comprehensive master plan for Cook County's Forest Preserve District. DRA's role involved analyzing outdoor recreation trends and creating attendance and revenue projections.
• Chuck Nozicka ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRA partnered with Chuck Nozicka Consulting to develop a market profile and estimate potential impacts for various Yurok Scenic Byway development scenarios.
• Destination AnalystsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDean Runyan Associates collaborated with Destination Analysts to survey businesses affected by Oregon's 2017 wildfires, combining survey results with economic impact analysis for Travel Oregon.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• STR (CoStar): STR provides hotel performance benchmarking, tourism demand data, and forecast analytics globally as part of CoStar. While broader than DRA, it competes directly in tourism performance measurement, lodging trends, and forecasting for state agencies and DMOs.
• Ypartnership / MMGY Global: Ypartnership (now part of MMGY Global) provides travel and tourism marketing research, including economic impact, traveler sentiment, and advertising ROI studies for destinations and travel brands. Competes with DRA in DMO research engagements.

Emerging players

• Arrivalist: Arrivalist provides destination marketing analytics using anonymized location data to measure visitation, visitor origin, and economic impact for DMOs and state tourism offices. It is an emerging technology-driven alternative to DRA's traditional survey-and-model approach.
• Kalibri Labs: Kalibri Labs provides hotel benchmarking, demand forecasting, and channel performance analytics for the hospitality industry. While focused on lodging performance, it overlaps with DRA's forecasting and real-time tourism trend services.
• Adara (RateGain): Adara, now part of RateGain, provides traveler data and audience insights to destinations and tourism brands using permissioned data from travel partners. It competes with DRA in destination intelligence and visitor analytics for DMOs.
• Skift Research: Skift Research produces data and reports on travel, tourism, and hospitality trends. It overlaps with DRA on tourism benchmarking and trend reporting, particularly for industry stakeholders and destinations, but with a more media-driven model.

Direct peers

• Longwoods International: Longwoods International conducts travel and tourism research, including economic impact studies, visitor profiles, and advertising tracking for state tourism offices, DMOs, and tourism attractions. Directly comparable in scope, methodology, and client base to DRA.
• Tourism Economics (Oxford Economics): Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics subsidiary, produces state and regional tourism economic impact analyses and forecasts using proprietary models. It is the most direct competitor to DRA's RTIM-based services, serving the same state tourism office and DMO client base.
• Destination Analysts: Destination Analysts is a tourism research firm specializing in traveler sentiment, visitor profiles, and economic impact studies for DMOs. DRA has a documented partnership with Destination Analysts on wildfire-related research, indicating overlapping capabilities and client relationships.
• Phocuswright: Phocuswright is a travel research firm producing market intelligence, consumer studies, and forecasts for the travel industry. While broader in scope, it competes in travel market research and benchmarking for DMO and tourism board clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dean_runyan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dean Runyan Associates