NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tourism continues to bring in big money in Tennessee and Nashville leads the way in visitor spending.
A new report says tourist spending in Davidson County generated nearly $10 billion last year, which is a 35% increase from 2021.
The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development released the new data at the industry’s annual Governor’s Conference where they celebrated growth across every one of the 95 counties in Tennessee.
According to the report, visitors spend an average of $27 million a day in Nashville which fuels local businesses and strengthens tax revenues. If it were not for state and local taxes generated by tourism, each Nashville household would pay $3,477 more dollars in state and local taxes.
“Nashville leads the way as the highest contributor to tourism spending across Tennessee, accounting for over one-third of visitor spending statewide and providing vital revenue to fund essential local and state government operations,” said Deana Ivey, President and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.”
Visitor spending hit a record $1.02 billion in state and local tax revenue. Of that, $409 million was in local taxes which is equivalent to the yearly operating budgets of the Metro Nashville Police Department and Metro Health Department. The state taxes from visitor spending totaled $612 million- an amount that is nearly equivalent to the annual operating budget of the Tennessee Environmental and Conservation Department.
“Tennessee is thriving as tourism continues to soar, from our large cities to small towns,” said Mark Ezell, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. “Our industry’s hard work is paying off with record levels of visitor spending and significantly outpacing inflation. It is our privilege to showcase these numbers and express our gratitude to our partners, attractions, elected leaders, and visitors who made a record year for Tennessee.”
This growth has created more jobs. Direct tourism-related employment included 47,046 jobs in Davidson County, an annual increase of 30%.
Numbers show 141 million people visited Tennessee last year. It's safe to say things aren't slowing down, and we could see those numbers go even higher in the next report.
