Nebraska’s tourism has soared since 2019 with strategies boosting visitor spending and tax revenue by about 30%, and overnight stays nearly doubling.
LINCOLN, NEB. – Since 2019 when new marketing and brand strategies were introduced, Nebraska’s tourism industry has experienced exceptional growth. Visitor spending, business earnings and state and local tax revenue have all increased approximately 30% over the period. Visitor spending grew from $3.5 billion in 2019 to a record $4.6 billion in 2023. This 29.4% increase dwarfs the national growth rate of 7%.
“Tourism in Nebraska has experienced remarkable growth,” said John Ricks, executive director of Visit Nebraska. “More and more people are becoming aware of the state every year and more and more people are visiting and experiencing our state’s natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, small towns and vibrant urban centers.”
Visit Nebraska’s mission is to increase out-of-state visitation, injecting new dollars into the economy. Since 2019, the number of overnight guests has nearly doubled, topping off at 12.6 million in 2023, up 311,000 year-over-year, with 76% of visits from out-of-state guests.
“The key here is the importance of getting people to stay overnight in paid accommodations,” Ricks continued. “The overnight stay is the driver of visitor spending and it’s crystal clear that were accomplishing that.”
According to Dean Runyan Associates, the firm that has been reporting Nebraska impacts for nearly two decades, lodging revenue in the state grew 26.4% from 2019-2022, compared to only 2.5% nationally. Final national numbers for 2023 are still in process, and the firm cites that Nebraska’s strong growth in lodging is notable.
Success at the state level also reaches counties throughout the state. Counties can assess up to a 4% lodging tax locally. From 2019 to 2023, these revenues increased 33.6% to just shy of $30 million.
Overall results for 2023 alone have just been released and highlights include:
- Visitor expenditures of $4.6 billion, up 6% over 2022
- Business earnings totaling $997 million, up 12.3%
- State and local tax revenue rose 9.3% to $322 million
- Overnight guests up 311,000, totaling 12.6 million
Visit Nebraska is funded by a 1% lodging tax which has grown 42% from calendar 2019-2023 to $8 million.
“What’s extremely important moving forward and will help us continue this tremendous momentum is to invest each and every lodging tax dollar collected back into our marketing efforts where each dollar invested creates $20.28 in visitor spending,” Ricks added.
In addition to these impressive figures, the popular Nebraska Passport Program successfully celebrated its 15th Anniversary with a stellar year. The program continues to be a shining example of statewide collaboration and community involvement. In 2024, the program saw:
- 1,078 Passport Champions – enthusiasts who visited all 70 stops across the State of Nebraska
- 146,000 Passport stamps were collected
- A total of 50,000 booklets were printed and distributed to travelers across the country
Throughout the summer, stops on the Nebraska Passport route saw an average of 3,100 additional visitors per destination, with 10% of stops reporting the program as a positive experience. The program also drew travelers from across the U.S., with participants from 43 different states and 436 Nebraska communities.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
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