Direct Visitor Spending Approached $1 Billion in Charlottesville and Albemarle County in 2023

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Direct visitor spending for Charlottesville and Albemarle County combined reached $956 million in 2023, up nearly 6% from 2022. These numbers accounted for nearly three percent of total visitor spending in Virginia. Albemarle County saw $551.3 million in visitor spending, a 7.8% increase over 2022. Charlottesville received $405.9 million in visitor spending, a 3.5% increase over the previous year. Tourism-supported jobs in the area totaled more than 7,000 while local tourism-related taxes were $26.3 million in Albemarle County and $20.8 million in Charlottesville.

According to the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), tourism in Virginia generated a record-high $33.3 billion in visitor spending in 2023, an increase of nearly 10% from 2022, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 14.7%. The tourism industry in Virginia directly supported over 224,000 jobs in 2023, an increase of over 13,000 jobs relative to 2022. Direct travel employment is now at 93% of pre-pandemic employment levels. Visitor-facing industries accounted for more than 5% of all jobs in Virginia last year.

"Tourism is big business in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, generating nearly one billion dollars of direct visitor spending for the second year in a row," said Courtney Cacatian, Executive Director of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau. "From an internationally renowned wine scene, to outdoor recreation experiences, a wealth of culinary options, historic attractions, and a robust selection of lodging, visitors continue to choose our area to spend their coveted vacation time. Now, with our destination's first 20-year Tourism Master Plan, we are positioned for success in the years to come," said Cacatian.

Out of the five categories of visitor spending, food and beverage ranked the highest for the second year in a row, with a total of $335 million for Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Visitor spending on lodging came in at a combined total of $209.8 million. However, only a portion of the local transient occupancy tax collected goes back to the promotion of the region to visitors, which makes driving overnight visitation critical to the mission of the CACVB.

All categories of visitor spending in the Commonwealth have now fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels and beyond. Recreation was the fastest growing category for Virginia in 2023, up 12% over 2022 and 24% beyond pre-pandemic levels, more than any other category, as travelers continue to show a strong preference for experiences. This is reflected locally, as the Charlottesville area has been named a finalist in Blue Ridge Outdoors' 2024 Top Adventure Towns contest. The results of this contest will be announced in the coming weeks.

VTC receives its annual economic impact data from Tourism Economics. The information is based on travelers from within the United States who stayed overnight or traveled more than 50 miles to the destination. Detailed economic impact data and methodology are available at vatc.org/research.

###

About the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) welcomes thousands of visitors to the region each year from all over the world who are seeking a variety of unique experiences in history, food, wine, spirits, and adventure. The CACVB serves as the global resource for marketing the tourism assets of the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle, and assists tour operators, meeting planners, and other groups in planning visits to the destination. The CACVB’s mission is to enhance the economic prosperity of the people of the City and County by promoting, selling, and marketing the area as a destination, in pursuit of the meetings and tourism markets.