Tourism up in Knox County with 2023 seeing $2 billion in spending

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Tourism in Knox County generated more than $2.04 billion in visitor spending during 2023, which is 8.49% higher than 2022’s spending according to the Tennessee Department of Tourism.

Visit Knoxville shared that local travel generated $75.7 million in tax revenues while state travel generated $129.9 million in tax revenues in 2023. In addition, tourism created 14,723 jobs in 2023. The Department of Tourism added that Knox County visitors generated $1,055 in tax savings per household through state and local tax collections.

The rise in spending in Knox County follows a trend that the state as a whole has seen. TDTD shared that the state received $30.6 billion in direct visitor spending and saw 144 million visitors in 2023. This marks a 6.2% increase from 2022 and follows two consecutive years of double-digit growth.

Visit Knoxville’s Tourism Dashboard for January to September 2024 reveals an increase in revenue generated through Visit Knoxville’s digital ad placement and organic website visits. Overall, $12,665,338 was generated in 2024, compared to $10,650,105 in 2023. Additional data in the dashboard shows that tourism in Knoxville is holding steady.

Visit Knoxville also recently released its report looking at the first quarter of the fiscal year 2025 (July-September 2024) . In the report, they shared their goal to continue making Knoxville a top destination.

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