Roanoke– Visitors to Virginia’s Blue Ridge generated a record $1.356 billion in economic impact, a nearly 7% percent increase over 2022. Of that $1.3 billion, $882 million was directly spent by visitors in Virginia’s Blue Ridge, another record and a 6.6% increase over 2022. This visitor spending generated nearly $43 million in local taxes for the Cites of Roanoke and Salem and the Counties of Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke.
“The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center team, in partnership with Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, has delivered an exceptionally strong performance in 2024,” said General Manager Brian Wells. “We are fulfilling our commitments and are well-positioned for the future. Our record revenue numbers, robust conference and meeting business, and the resurgence of business travel underscore our success.”
The tourism industry in Virginia’s Blue Ridge directly supported 7,280 jobs in 2023, an increase of 3.6% relative to 2022. Direct travel employment in Virginia is now at 93% of pre-pandemic employment levels. Visitor-facing industries accounted for more than 5% of all jobs in Virginia last year.
“Book No Further has seen a definite uptick in the proportion of out-of-town visitors among our customers in the last year and especially this spring and summer. Roanoke Valley residents may be unaware how many people outside the area view the region as a destination thanks to the efforts of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge,” said Doloris Vest, owner of Book No Further in Downtown Roanoke.
All five categories of visitor spending in the Commonwealth have now fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels and beyond. Those categories include recreation, transportation, lodging, food & beverage, and retail. Visitors to Virginia’s Blue Ridge spent $265.3 million on food and beverage, $235 million on transportation, $179.4 million on lodging, $110.7 million on recreation, and $91.8 million on retail in 2023. This totals to a record $882.2 million directly spent by visitors in the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke.
“Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge has been an excellent partner in promoting tourism and outdoor recreation in our region. Their efforts have attracted thousands of visitors and locals to Roanoke County and Explore Park to participate in athletic tournaments, collegiate cross-country races, cycling and mountain biking races, outdoor recreation activities and Illuminights Winter Walk of Lights,” said Alex North of Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
Candace Monaghan, organizer of the annual Beaver Dam Sunflower Festival said, “I am very grateful for Visit VBR and all they do to help promote our annual event. They have a customer reach that is far greater than I do and being able to partner with them on advertising campaigns has helped us draw in more customers from out of the region and reach areas we normally wouldn’t, which helps increase overnight stays to our event.”
Data Explanation
VTC receives its annual economic impact data from Tourism Economics. The information is based on domestic visitor spending (travelers from within the United States) from per-person trips. Visitors included those who stayed overnight or traveled more than 50 miles to the destination. Detailed economic impact data and methodology are available at vatc.org/research.
Direct spending ($882.2 million): Economic value created by visitors at the point of transaction in key travel sectors
Indirect/Induced Impacts ($1.3 billion): This number includes the $882.2 million in direct spending from visitors. It also includes indirect and induced impacts. Tourism Economics uses an IMPLAN input-output model to measure the expanded economic impact of travel spending as it flows through the economy.
-The Salem Times-Register
