Henrico maintained fifth-place ranking in state tourism revenue in 2019

, and Citizen Staff Reports

October 20, 2020 . 11:28 AM

1 min read

Henrico County maintained its fifth-place ranking among Virginia localities in tourism revenue in 2019, according to data released recently by the United States Travel Association and commissioned by the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

The study found that pre-pandemic tourism dollars saw an uptick in 2019 over the previous year in the Richmond region, approaching $2.68 billion in visitor spending – a 3.2% increase over the previous year.

The total amount spent by tourists in Henrico County last year was $993.9 million, according to the study. That spending generated state sales tax receipts of $36 million and local tax revenue to the county of more than $30 million, the study concluded. Henrico was fifth in tourist spending behind three Northern Virginia jurisdictions and Virginia Beach. Richmond, with tourist spending of $836,540,886, ranked eighth.

Tourist spending generated a combined $177 million in state and local tax receipts in 2019 and employed a total of 24,781 people throughout the Richmond Region. Both figures represented increases from 2018.

Statewide, tourism generated $27 billion in visitor spending in 2019, up 3.4% from 2018. On average, tourists spent $73 million per day in the commonwealth.

“Reflecting on the continued increases in visitor spending that the Richmond Region enjoyed last year is a pointed reminder of the economic power of the tourism industry,” said Jack Berry, Richmond Region Tourism President & CEO. “While the pandemic has severely impacted the hospitality sector, we recognize that tourism will help lead the charge back to a more robust economy. The Richmond Region’s location, accessibility, plethora of outdoor activities and a strong trend of friends and family visiting will help accelerate our region’s economic rebound in the future.”

All data was received by the VTC from US Travel and was based upon domestic visitor spending (travelers from within the United States) from trips taken 50 miles or more away from home.