Experience Columbus says Greater Columbus drew 54.9 million trips in 2025, supporting 83,306 jobs, as its annual gathering honored five local tourism contributors.
Travel and tourism professionals gather at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field for Experience Columbus' TourismUS 2026 event in Columbus, Ohio.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Experience Columbus' annual TourismUS event brought hundreds of tourism, business and community stakeholders to ScottsMiracle-Gro Field on Oct. 1, 2026.
- Greater Columbus recorded 54.9 million visitor trips in 2025, up 3.3%, while overnight trips increased 3.7% for a second consecutive year.
- Experience Columbus cited $8.6 billion in direct visitor spending, 83,306 supported jobs and $1.81 billion in local, state and federal tax revenue.
- The 2025 Best of US Awards recognized Noble Cut Distillery, COTA, The Refectory Restaurant, Columbus Arena Sports & Entertainment and Densil Porteous.
(NEWS) COLUMBUS, Ohio, United States, 2026-Oct-02 — /Travel PR News/ — Experience Columbus used its annual TourismUS gathering on Oct. 1 to put fresh numbers behind the scale of Central Ohio’s visitor economy, pairing new and recently released tourism data with recognition for businesses and individuals shaping the region’s hospitality sector.
Hundreds of travel and tourism professionals, local business owners, community leaders and elected officials gathered at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus for the event. According to Experience Columbus’ TourismUS recap, Greater Columbus recorded 54.9 million visitor trips in 2025, a 3.3% increase from the previous year, while overnight trips rose 3.7% for a second consecutive year, adding roughly 400,000 trips.
Visitor growth translates into billions in local spending
The destination marketing organization said 2025 visitor activity supported 83,306 jobs across Columbus and Franklin County, equivalent to about one in every 14 jobs. Tourism Economics data cited by Experience Columbus put direct visitor spending at $8.6 billion, while local, state and federal tax revenue generated by visitors totaled $1.81 billion.
The figures build on the organization’s 2026 State of the Visitor Industry mid-year report, which broke the 54.9 million trips into 43.4 million day trips and 11.5 million overnight trips. That report also showed that Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York and Kentucky were the leading origin markets for overnight visitors.
Other indicators pointed to continued momentum in 2026. Experience Columbus reported $32 million in bed-tax collections from Jan. 1 through June 30, up 7% from the same period in 2025. Together with the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, it had also booked 286 conventions, meetings, trade shows and sporting events for future years, representing 115,864 room nights.
Best of US Awards recognize local hospitality contributors
TourismUS also served as the stage for the third annual Best of US Awards, recognizing organizations and individuals credited by Experience Columbus with supporting tourism and the visitor experience in Central Ohio during 2025. This year’s honorees were:
- Noble Cut Distillery — Collaborator of the Year, Small Business/Organization
- COTA — Collaborator of the Year, Large Business/Organization
- The Refectory Restaurant — Tourism Champion, Small Business/Organization
- Columbus Arena Sports & Entertainment — Tourism Champion, Large Business/Organization
- Densil Porteous, ECI — Experience Columbus Insider of the Year
The gathering also highlighted a cluster of milestone anniversaries across the region. Experience Columbus is marking its 85th year in 2026, while North Market is celebrating 150 years and the Columbus Symphony is marking its 75th anniversary. America250 programming formed part of the broader milestone theme featured during the event.
For Experience Columbus, the annual meeting brought together the destination’s business case for tourism and the people behind the visitor experience. The organization, which serves as the destination marketing organization for the Columbus region, is focused on increasing visitor spending while supporting leisure travel, conventions, trade shows, sporting events and other demand generators across Greater Columbus.
