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Tourism commissioners: visitor economy brings $4.2 billion; Canadian spending fell sharply in 2025
Summary
The Department of Tourism and Marketing told the House Appropriations Committee it estimates $4.2 billion in direct visitor spending and reported a near‑50% drop in Canadian credit‑card spending in 2025 that translated to an estimated $75 million loss in visitor spending.
Heather Pelham, Commissioner of the Department of Tourism and Marketing, presented tourism metrics to the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 11, describing the visitor economy as a revenue driver that supports jobs and state tax receipts.
"We are bringing 16,000,000 visitors here on an average annual basis, who spend $4,200,000,000 in the state," Pelham said, adding that visitor spending produces about $300 million in direct tax…
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