In the land of racehorses and bourbon, tourism is one of the most important economic sectors. Northern Kentucky has increasingly become a larger part of that growing market.
Yesterday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear touted the record growth of Kentucky’s tourism sector during a visit to Lexington’s Distillery District. Within the numbers, NKY played a key role in last year’s expansion of the state’s tourism industry.
Over the past year, the Kentucky tourism industry generated $12.9 billion in economic impact and created 91,668 jobs, according to a press release from the governor’s office. The previous yearly record for tourism in Kentucky was in 2019, when the state generated $11.9 billion of economic impact. Yearly visitation also surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with 75.9 million travelers touching down in the Bluegrass State in 2022.
“Tourism is essential to Kentucky and that is why I have made it a priority to support this industry. It’s thrilling to see our hard work pay off in such a historic way,” Beshear said.
Of that $12.9 billion figure, NKY, comprised of Kenton, Campbell and Boone County, generated approximately $1.95 billion, or around 15%. Additionally, NKY generated $111 million in state and local taxes.
“Northern Kentucky is on the rise, and today, we are celebrating our area’s economic impact on the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Especially as Northern Kentucky was ranked as the second largest impact area in the state behind Louisville, boding well for our entire region,” said Julie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of meetNKY, Northern Kentucky’s tourism bureau in a press release. “Much of that impact is due to our amazing partners and attractions.”
Regionally, Northern Kentucky has rebounded well since the pandemic. In 2022, the region returned to 90% of pre-pandemic level business travel, according to meetNKY officials. Regional hotel revenues grew by 19.4% from 2021 to 2022.
In 2022, the state invested over $13 million into marketing Kentucky’s tourism industry. Out of this funding came new advertisements and marketing campaigns. The state also awarded $5.3 million worth of pandemic recovery funding to 103 destination marketing groups across 88 counties.
Of this, over $1 million was donated to organizations in the “Northern Kentucky River” region which was the second highest amount behind the Greater Louisville region — the largest metro in the state. meetNKY specifically was awarded $883,155.
Bourbon tourism specifically has been a boost for Northern Kentucky and the state as a whole.
“Bourbon is on fire and that momentum is going to keep going, so it was a great year,”
Kirkpatrick said at meetNKY’s annual tourism meeting in March.
Approximately $2 million people visited bourbon distilleries across the state last year, according to data from the Kentucky Distillers Association. Northern Kentucky bourbon distilleries specifically experienced an 11% growth in visits.
The food and beverage industry added $1 billion to Kentucky’s gross domestic product in 2022, according to a Tourism Economics study conducted by the state.
“Much of that impact is due to our amazing partners and attractions. This past week, two more local distilleries, Pensive Distilling Co. and Augusta Distillery, joined the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour and The B-Line, taking our total stops to 25,” Kirkpatrick said.
