NEWS REPORT

Tourism is big business in Boyle County, and 2022 economic impact figures recently released by the Kentucky Department of Tourism show exactly how much of an impact visitors have on the community.

Although the numbers directly reflect tourism’s important role in the local economy, they also show the post-Covid growth that continues to occur as people travel to Kentucky to visit places like Danville, Perryville and Junction City.

As shown in the report, visitors to Boyle County in 2022 supported 656 tourism-related jobs, providing $18.03 million in labor income while paying $6 million in state and local taxes. Tourism spending in Boyle County totaled $75.91 million.

Each of those numbers was an increase from 2021 when there were 628 tourism-related jobs providing $16 million in labor income and $5.6 million in state and local taxes collected. Total tourism-related spending in 2021 in Boyle County was $71.93 million, meaning there was a $4 million increase in visitor spending between 2021 and 2022.

“These numbers speak volumes about the importance of the tourism economy in Danville and Boyle County,” said Kendall Clinton, executive director of the Danville-Boyle County Tourism Office. “From tour guides, to hotel employees, to restaurant workers and other support staff, jobs that serve visitors to our community are jobs that support local families and the local tax base.”

Just like in Boyle County, tourism is vital to Kentucky’s economy, as well.

In 2022, Kentucky had 91,668 jobs reliant on visitors, resulting in $3.274 billion in labor income, $936.7 million in state and local taxes paid, and total spending of $12.9 billion. The numbers for 2022 surpassed the previous record economic impact of $11.8 billion from 2019.

The annual tourism economic impact report was compiled by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics Company, using a variety of data for multiple reputable sources, including AirDNA, the U.S. Census, Smith Travel Research, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In Kentucky’s central bluegrass region, 47 percent of overnight visitors said they were visiting relatives or friends. A total of 37 percent were visiting from somewhere else in Kentucky, 13 percent came from Ohio and 11 percent from Indiana. Of those who visited the region, 47 percent reported staying in a hotel, and 47 percent said they dined at local eateries.

The Danville-Boyle County Tourism Office serves as the lead agency for marketing the local community to potential visitors from throughout the country and around the world. This is done through print and digital advertising, social media efforts, the office’s website, direct mail brochures, the local visitor center and a variety of other campaigns to reach people who may be interested in what Danville and Boyle County have to offer.

“Just for a visual reference, we have a map of the United States as well as a world map in our visitor center here at Constitution Square and we encourage people who stop by to put a pin in the map to show where they live,” Clinton said. “So far this year, we’ve had visitors from around 40 states, as well as countries like Brazil, Chile, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, England, Slovakia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and the Maldives. And those are just people who happened to come into the visitor center while they were in town.”

The tourism office provides support for events like the Great American Brass Band Festival, Downtown Downbeat, Soul of Second Street, the Forkland Heritage Festival, the Bourbon Chase and more. The office is also involved in various aspects of tourism development for new and expanding businesses and events that have a role in the visitor experience.

Learn more about local tourism, including upcoming events, on the Danville-Boyle County Tourism website – www.danvillekentucky.com.