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Explore Minnesota tells committee tourism generated $24.7 billion in 2024; agency flags AI impacts to web traffic
Summary
The director of Explore Minnesota told lawmakers the agency welcomed 81 million visitors in 2024, producing a $24.7 billion economic impact and 182,000 jobs, and said search‑AI (Gemini) diverted roughly 40% of clicks from the agency website, prompting strategy changes.
Lauren Bennett McGinty, executive director of Explore Minnesota, briefed the House committee on the agency’s 2024 results and programs, emphasizing tourism’s contribution to jobs, tax revenue and local economies.
"We welcomed 81,000,000 visitors," McGinty said, and described tourism’s fiscal effects: roughly $2.4 billion in state and local taxes, $1.8 billion in federal taxes, more than 182,000 tourism‑related jobs and a reported $24.7 billion economic impact in 2024 (figures from Tourism Economics).
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