South Central Tennessee Tourism Association, made up of 13 counties, including Coffee, generated more than $488 million in direct visitor spending and saw 3.5 million visitors to the region. The 2022 Economic Impact of Travel on Tennessee report was released by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.
“The entire region is celebrating a victory run for tourism,” Executive Director Ryan French, SCTTA, said. “I am proud of our team at SCTTA, and the amazing local partners working to grow the economic impact of tourism. Our collective hard work has paid off.”
Specific to Coffee County, the same report reveals $137,939,300 in domestic visitor spending to the county, a 13% increase from 2021. TDTD released the new data at the industry’s annual Governor’s Conference in Knoxville, and celebrated growth across all 95 Tennessee counties.
“Tennessee is thriving as tourism continues to soar, from our large cities to small towns,” said Mark Ezell, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. “Our industry’s hard work is paying off with record levels of visitor spending and significantly outpacing inflation. It is our privilege to showcase these numbers and express our gratitude to our partners, attractions, elected leaders and visitors who made a record year for Tennessee.”
BY THE NUMBERS:
· Coffee county ranked 19 among the 95 counties in Tennessee.
· Visitor spending in Coffee County generated $12,982,900 in state and local tax revenue.
· If it were not for state and local taxes generated by tourism, each Coffee County household would pay $579 more in state and local taxes.
· Visitor spending also supported 919 jobs in Coffee County.
Statewide, Tennessee tourism generated $29 billion in direct visitor spending and saw 141 million visitors to the state in 2022. Tax dollars generated by tourism support important public services like education, health and safety.
SCTTA’s 2022 Economic Impact on Travel Report can be found here:
https://www.sctta.org/research
It includes county snapshots, comprehensive models of the economic impact of spending by industry.
