Tourism revenue reached $1.57 billion in the Shenandoah Valley in 2019

SHENANDOAH VALLEY, Va. (WHSV) — Tourism revenue for the 14 localities in the Shenandoah Valley reached $1.57 billion in 2019, according to a press release from the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission.

That is a $46 million increase since 2018. According to the Commission, local tourism-supported jobs totaled 13,859, and local tourism-related taxes increased to $45.8 million.

“Because of the local and state tax revenues generated by this direct tourism spending, the average household in the Shenandoah Valley spent $573 less in taxes in 2019. In other words, if tourism did not exist in the Valley, each of the 197,503 households would have had to pay an average of $573 more in state & local taxes to replace the taxes generated by tourist spending,” the press release says.

The press release also says, according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), tourism in Virginia generated $27 billion in visitor spending in 2019. The tourism industry also supported 237,000 jobs for Virginia communities and provided $1.8 billion in state and local revenue.

The commonwealth ranks 8th in the nation for domestic travel spending.