Economic impact of travel in Tennessee
* $18.4 billion – Travel expenditures last year, up 3.7 percent from the previous year* $3.6 billion – Payroll from tourism in 2015, up 6.1 percent from the previous year* $1.6 billion – State and local taxes paid last year from tourism, up 7 percent from previous year* 157,400 – Employment in tourism last year, up 2.9 percent from the previous yearSource: U.S. Travel Association estimates prepared by D.K. Shifflet & Associates.
Lured by scenic attractions, sporting events and business conventions, visitors to Hamilton County pumped more than $1 billion into Chattanooga’s economy last year for the first time.
Tourists boosted their spending in Chattanooga last year by nearly 3.4 percent, helping to propel Tennessee’s overall tourism industry to a record high of $17.8 billion, according to a study released Tuesday by the U.S. Travel Association.
Tourism is Tennessee’s second largest industry, behind only agriculture. Last year, more than 105 million visitors came to the Volunteer State. Serving all those tourists and conventioneers employed an estimated 151,780 people statewide.
“We’re a growing industry that we expect will continue to move the chart upward in a northeast direction,” said Bob Doak, president of the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The economy continues to improve, and I think in Chattanooga we offer the kind of authentic and natural experience many people want.”