Gov. Justice celebrates another year of record-breaking growth in the tourism industry

CHARLESTON, WV –– Gov. Jim Justice today announced West Virginia’s tourism performance for 2023, with the industry’s total economic impact approaching $9 billion last year. Visitor volume to the state reached 75 million visitors last year.

These visitors spent $6.3 billion in the state, 5.6% more than in 2022. These levels of visitation and spending are both above 2019 levels, demonstrating a full recovery from the pandemic and robust new growth.

West Virginia welcomed more visitors last year than ever before, and those visitors spent more money than they had in previous years. Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company that measures tourism spending and economic impact, found that visitors to the state had direct spending of $6.3 billion last year, an all-time high.

"From day one, I knew that investing in our tourism industry was going to be a key driver in West Virginia's rise," Gov. Justice said. "There's a reason we're on worldwide travel guides saying West Virginia is the state to visit. It's because we have four incredible seasons and the nicest people on the planet. What we've been able to accomplish in this industry is truly amazing, and I cannot thank Secretary Ruby and everyone involved in the tourism industry enough for making our state shine bright like the diamond we are, because it's working. I won't be your Governor for much longer, so please keep up the good work. There isn't a person on this planet who is prouder than I am of what we've been able to accomplish so far, and I believe that it's just the beginning."