(The Center Square) – Tourism generated about $3.4 billion in state and local taxes in Virginia last year as visitors spent a record $36.2 billion across the Commonwealth.
Local governments accounted for about $2.1 billion of the tax impact, while $1.36 billion went to the state, according to an economic impact analysis by Tourism Economics for the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
The report estimates Virginia households would have had to pay an additional $1,020 each in state and local taxes to replace the revenue generated by visitor activity.
About $2.6 billion of the tax impact came directly from visitor activity. Another $812 million came from indirect and induced economic activity tied to tourism.
Property taxes accounted for the largest share of the estimated tax impact, at about $1.37 billion, with nearly all of that going to local governments. Sales taxes brought in just over $1 billion, followed by excise taxes and fees, personal income taxes and lodging taxes.
Visitor spending increased 3.1%, or about $1.1 billion, from the previous year, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth.
Food and beverage spending increased 5.7% to $10.5 billion, while recreation and entertainment spending rose 4.9% to nearly $4.8 billion.
Visitors also spent $10.5 billion on transportation, $6.8 billion on lodging and nearly $3.7 billion at retail businesses.
Virginia recorded 117.1 million visitors in 2025, up 2.2% from the previous year. That included a record 46.6 million overnight visitors.
Domestic travel drove the increase, while international visitation declined 11.1%. International visitors spent an average of $1,616 per person, compared with $300 for domestic visitors.
Tourism directly supported nearly 232,000 jobs and generated $10.6 billion in personal income. When the broader economic impact is included, those figures rise to more than 332,000 jobs and $16.7 billion in income.
Visitors spent an average of $99 million per day in Virginia.
Tourism Economics calculated the estimates using visitor surveys, industry and government data and an economic model that measures direct spending along with supply-chain and employee spending tied to tourism.
Locality-specific economic impact data for 2025 is expected to be available around Labor Day, according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
