Visitors to Montgomery bring with them some real value, in both dollars and cents and quality of life.
WORD ON THE STREET
Montgomery and the River Region have been press darlings recently, racking up coverage in trusted and widely read news sources that is the equivalent of almost $3 million in paid marketing or advertising.
The Chamber's aggressive media strategy combined with the opening of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum drove hundreds of thousands of new visitors to Montgomery last year. Numerous national media outlets have been here too, sharing Montgomery’s story with the world. Here are a few highlights that show how a booming tourism industry positively impacts residents and businesses.
IT counts
- $1.5M spent nightly by tourists in Montgomery = $554 MILLION ANNUALLY
- 2 people per travel party = 8,440 travelers each night
- 8,440 people dining daily at $75 = $633,000 daily dining revenue
SIGNIFICANT STATS
What do these tourism numbers really mean? Dawn Hathcock, Vice President of the Chamber's Convention and Visitor Bureau explained. “There’s a quote I love: 'If it’s a good place to live, it’s a good place to visit.’ The opposite is equally true,” she said. “The things we want as residents for quality of life, those are the things people are looking for when they visit, and more visitors often lead to more entertainment and dining options, more shops and other businesses opening here.” They also affect bottom lines. “State tourism saves each household in Alabama 405 tax dollars each year,” Hathcock said. “We see similar savings on a local level."
MORE BEDS FOR MORE HEADS
All our visitors have to have a place to sleep, and new hotels keep announcing and opening to meet growing demand. Staybridge Suites and Springhill Suites will open this year, and
a number of other hotels both downtown and in the EastChase area are in the planning stages. The city’s current hotels are operating, on average, at 67 percent occupancy, totaling 4,220 rooms sold each night.
ACCOLADES IN SPADES
In 2018, the Chamber's CVB was awarded the State Tourism Partnership Award along with the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. In the last 10 years, the CVB has been named “CVB of the Year” twice by the Southeast Tourism Society.
