If you know someone who recently hopped out the plane at BNA, they're contributing to local tourism — an industry that brought in $10.78 billion in visitor spending in 2023.

Record-breaking numbers

According to the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development's recently released 2023 economic impact report, last year's $10.78 billion represents ~8% growth compared to 2022. Five local industries contributed to the all-time high stat:

Lodging — $2.6 billion
Food + beverage — $2.5 billion
Amusement + recreation — $2.5 billion
Transportation — $2.0 billion
Retail — $1.1 billion

Tourism has surpassed pre-pandemic levels in Davidson County in 2022 + 2023. | Data via Tennessee Department of Tourist Development

It's not just the dollars that are growing, the number of tourists has also increased. Davidson County saw 16.8 million tourists last year, including:

11.2 million overnight visitors (up 3.9% from 2022)
5.6 million people who took day trips (up 3.4%)

For the locals

Nashvillians can take pride in knowing they live where millions of people vacation, but tourism still impacts the locals. The industry supports nearly 49,000 local jobs, and it brings in a lot of money. Last year, tourism generated $667 million in state taxes and $444 million in local taxes. If those taxes were assigned to Davidson County residents, each household would receive a $3,671 bill — that's enough to order Noko's wagyu brisket 131 times or attend 50+ concerts at Ryman Auditorium.

The future of tourism

Music City is expected to keep striking the right chord with tourists. Projections from the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp suggest the number of visitors will climb to 17.1 million in 2024 and hit the 20 million mark by 2033. Meanwhile, annual spending is expected to climb to $10.84 billion this year and hit the $12 billion mark by 2027.