(WFXR)- Visitors to Virginia’s Blue Ridge spent $923.1 million in 2024, a 4.6 percent increase over 2023, according to new economic impact data released by the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
The report indicated that direct visitor spending supported 7,418 jobs and generated $44.6 million in local tax revenue for “the Cities of Roanoke and Salem and the Counties Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke.”
The increase is encouraging news for area tourism officials. According to Kathryn Lucas, director of Virginia’s Blue Ridge, the local sector continued to break records despite the impact of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene. The agency’s website, Visit VBR, experienced two million unique visitors in fiscal year 24-25, with 80 percent of the traffic coming from outside the region. Lucas said the leading feeder markets for VBR are Northern Virginia/ Washington DC, Richmond, and Norfolk/ Virginia Beach…