BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Kentucky has broken tourism records for the second year in a row, Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) made the announcement Thursday during a Team Kentucky update.
Need to know: Kentucky breaks tourism record for second straight year
Nearly 79 million tourists visited the Bluegrass State, and tourism brought in more than $477 million in revenue to Bowling Green and Warren counties.
Warren County ranks 5th among 120 counties in tourism spending
Last year, tourism generated nearly $14 billion in revenue for the state’s economy, with approximately 79 million visitors visiting the Bluegrass State.
Cities like Bowling Green are also benefiting from a tourism boom that’s bringing in more revenue than ever before.
That’s a significant increase from previous years, according to Shelley Murphy, executive director of the Bowling Green Convention Area & Visitors Bureau.
“Tourists spent $477 million in Warren County, which is a great number to be proud of,” Murphy said.
This is a 7.9% increase from last year’s tourism spending and the highest annual spending on tourism in Warren County on record. Tourism has increased for the past two years. From 2021 to 2022, the city’s tourism spending increased 5.9%, although such an increase was not expected.
“We’re really figuring everything out post-COVID, so to see an increase compared to 2022 was really pleasing and makes sense,” Murphy said.
Warren County ranks fifth in tourism spending out of all 120 counties. Murphy said the number one tourist attraction in Warren County is the National Corvette Museum.
The museum has seen more visitors than previous years, in part because of the Corvette’s landmark anniversary in 2023, said Ryan Eichler, director of marketing and communications for the museum.
“It was the 70th anniversary of the Corvette. It was the summer. We had a new exhibit and we had a tremendous turnout,” Eichler said.
And they expect even more visitors in 2024.
“2024 is going to be an even more amazing year because it will be the museum’s 30th anniversary, and we’ll be welcoming over 8,000 fans over Labor Day weekend for our anniversary event and national caravan. This is a once every five years event, so you’re going to see a big turnout of Corvette fans in Bowling Green,” Eichler said.
Other attractions that draw tourists include Lost River Caverns, Cheney’s Dairy Barn, and Beech Bend Park.
