Doing Business in Nelson County

Nelson County Announces Annual Tourism Economic Impact Figures

(Nelson County, Virginia) ñ The Nelson County Department of Tourism and Economic Development announced today that in 2007 tourism generated $160,043,943 in visitor spending, supported 1,628  jobs and generated $4,863,065 in local taxes to support the community.  The figures represent a 2.5% increase over 2006 and points to the importance of tourism to the local economy.

Virginia continues to rank as one of the nationís premiere tourism destinations and it follows that tourism remains a major contributor to the revenues of the Commonwealth and its localities.  The annual economic impact of tourism was compiled by the Travel Industry of America for the Virginia Tourism Corporation and indicates just how vital tourism is to Virginiaís economy.

“Tourism is Nelson County’s economic engine, and the increase in local tax revenues each year speak to the success of tourism as a successful economic development strategy,” said Board of Supervisors Chairperson Tommy Harvey.  ìTourism has such a positive financial impact on Virginia as a whole and on local areas as well,î said Alisa Bailey, president and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation. ìYou can see how so many of our localities depend on tourism to bring in money and sustain jobs that otherwise would not exist.î

On a statewide level, the economic impact data shows that in 2007 visitors spent $18.7 billion in Virginia, an increase of 5.8% from 2006 and ahead of the national domestic travel increase of 4.7%.  Tourism also supported 210,000 Virginia jobs. If domestic tourism were its own industry it would be the sixth largest employer in Virginia.

Virginia tourism generated $1.2 billion in state and local tax revenue for Virginiaís communities in 2007.  The state tax revenue derived from tourism is enough to pay the salaries and benefits of 11,500 new state police officers or educate 78,000 Virginia students.   The 2007 total of all local taxes generated by tourism in Virginia was $529.2 million, enough to pay the salaries of 12,000 elementary school teachers and staff.