Travel-related spending in Fayette County exceeded $2 billion for the first time in 2015, according to a survey released by the state this month.
Total travel expenditures for Fayette County hit $2.02 billion in 2015, up from $1.93 billion in 2014. Direct travel expenditures in Fayette County rose from $1.23 billion in 2014 to $1.28 billion in 2015.
“The dollars spent by visitors have strengthened Lexington’s economy by creating jobs, supporting local businesses from gas stations to restaurants to retail stores, and generating tax revenues to support our community,” said Mary Quinn Ramer, president of VisitLEX, in a release announcing the survey results.
Tourism-related revenues were up last year in each of the state’s nine tourism regions. For the 15-county region surrounding Fayette County, total travel expenditures reached $3.01 billion, up from $2.88 billion in 2014. Statewide, total tourism and travel industry expenditures increased to $13.73 billion in 2015, up from $13.08 billion in 2014. Statewide, tourism generated roughly $1.44 billion in state and local taxes in 2015, up from $1.37 billion in 2014.
Tourism employment increased in Fayette County, from 14,929 in 2014 to 15,339 in 2015. Across the state, Kentucky added a total of 6,241 tourism-related jobs in 2015, for a total of 186,204 jobs in Kentucky resulting from the industry. Tourism also generated almost $3.08 billion in wages related to travel across the state, up from $2.93 billion in 2014.
The survey was produced for the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet by Certec Inc. of Versailles, Kentucky. For more details on the tourism economic impact study and results from other regions and counties across the state, check the website at www.kentuckytourism.com/industry.