VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (VBCBV) announced on Wednesday that a recent economic impact study found that Virginia Beach had 13.6 million visitors in 2022.
Visitor spending amounted to $2.4 billion, and the economic impact "encompassing both indirect and induced effects" resulted in a total of $3.7 billion for 2022, the bureau reported.
VBCVB also claimed the economic ripple sustained 32,704 jobs or 19% of all jobs in the city. Tourism spending also contributed $324 million in state and local tax revenues, "offsetting local annual taxes by $1754 per Virginia Beach household."
Food and beverages were what tourists spent the most money on totaling over $1 billion and 42% of spending. Lodging expenses accounted for 28%, transportation and recreational activities each claimed 11% and retail was 9%.
Research also showed that 74% of last year's overnight travelers were repeat visitors. 42% had also visited within the last 12 months.
Visitor spending overall grew by 14.5% because of pent-up demand according to VBCBV.
The study, centered on the expenditures of Virginia Beach tourists in 2022, was undertaken by Tourism Economics, a subsidiary of Oxford Economics, utilizing an array of local and nationwide data resources and survey instruments.
This release comes after the Virginia Tourism Corporation's report stated that Hampton Roads made a combined $6.5 billion in tourism profits. According to both reports that means Virginia Beach accounted for over 56% of Hampton Roads' tourism profits.
