Giraffe Feeding at the Memphis Zoo
Craig Thompson

Tourism Economic Impact

Focus in on the story and statistics around the economic impact of tourism on Memphis, Tennessee. 

TOURISM STATISTICS

  • 2022 Annual Visitors: 11M
  • Leisure & Hospitality Jobs in Shelby County in 2021*: 40.7K
  • Leisure & Hospitality Businesses in Shelby County in 2021*: 2,200+
  • Annual Economic Impact of Domestic Visitors in 2021*: $3.461B
  • State Tax Receipts Generated in 2021*: $166.4M
  • Local Tax Receipts Generated in 2021*: $109.7M

    *Most recent full year of data available.

TOP TRAVEL MOTIVATORS

The top travel motivators for Memphis visitors include paying their respects to Memphis music legends like Elvis, B.B. King and Johnny Cash; experiencing our current live music scene and the Memphis nightlife in person, especially Beale Street; tasting our world-famous barbeque; and most importantly, spending quality time making memories with friends and family.
 
Nearly two-thirds of all Memphis attraction visitors report experiencing the music unique to Memphis was a key reason they chose to come here, ranking the importance of Memphis as a seven or above on a scale of ten—and half of these music-influenced travelers ranked music as a nine or a ten in importance.
 
Only 15 percent of Memphis attraction visitors reported that experiencing live music was not a priority for them during their trip to Memphis; over 60% of surveyed Memphis  visitors reported that they experienced live music during their trip.
Memphis Tourism's
2022 Annual Report

traveler profile and hotel stats

LEISURE TRAVELER PROFILE

Based on an always-on digital survey strategy, we have considerable insight into the characteristics of a Memphis visitors
  • Average Number of Adults in Attraction Travel Parties: 1.9 Adults
  • Share of Memphis Attraction Travel Parties that Include Children: 47%
  • Average Number of Children in Attraction Family Travel Parties: 1.3 Children
  • Average Nightly Expenditures for Overnight Travel Parties: $742 Nightly
  • Average Length of Stay for Overnight Travel Parties: 3.1 Nights
  • Share of Travel Parties Staying Overnight: 63%
  • Share of Overnight Travel Parties Staying in Hotels: 61.7%

2023 LOCAL HOTEL INDUSTRY

  • Total Number of Memphis MSA Hotel Rooms: 26K+
  • Total Number of Hotel Rooms Downtown: 4K+
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