Tennessee Tourism Commissioner Ezell Visits Hardeman County
County and municipal officials, chamber of commerce representatives, as well as community members filled the Bolivar municipal conference room to hear from Tennessee Tourism Commissioner Mark Ezell during a work session last week.
Commissioner Ezell shared how the leisure and hospitality industry plays an essential role in Tennessee’s economy and employs over 352,000 Tennesseans. While good for the industry, the news also benefits the entire state. As the state’s second leading industry, tourism is a significant source of tax revenue for Tennessee contributing $1.8 billion in state sales tax collections in 2022.
During the work session, Commissioner Ezell and his team helped the group brainstorm ways to improve and market tourism in Hardeman County.
Tennessee is the fastest-growing state in travel spending since 2018 and has risen from 14th to 11th in the nation for travel spending.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Tennessee reached a record $27.5 billion in visitor spending in 2022, marking a $3 billion increase (+14 percent) over 2021, according to U.S. Travel.
- Travel spending propelled Tennessee to 11th in the nation for travel spending in 2021 and 2022, up from its previous record of 14 in 2020. (Preliminary rankings released April 2023 by U.S. Travel).
- The industry contributed $1.8 billion in actual state sales tax collections in 2022.
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