MOUNT VERNON — Visitor spending increased in Knox County each of the last three years, pulling in $90.2 million in sales tax in 2023.
The numbers for 2021 and 2022 are $78.7M and $86.5M, respectively.
According to Olivia Toth, marketing manager for the Knox County Convention and Visitors Bureau, that $90.2M generated a total impact of $150.6 million.
The biggest segment is leisure travel, with people spontaneously deciding to “zoom off to somewhere new” because they have a longer weekend.
“Group travel hasn’t really picked back up, … but we hope with partnerships with the new hotel and more of our sports teams that we get back into that groove,” Toth said.
She said seeing $150M in direct spending is exciting, but she does not think people understand what that looks like.
“It is so impactful to say I went to Mount Vernon for the weekend. I saw a show, and then I had dinner. I had breakfast the next morning and then walked the streets,” Toth said. “That overnight visitor spends at or over $400 on their average night stay. So, that average overnight stay is really important rather than a day trip.
“We love the day trippers; they spend money,” she continued. “But we love to have those people that stay overnight because their dollars go further for us.”
Toth is encouraged to see an upward growth curve in the overnight segment rather than peaks and dips when special events occur.
“We’re really excited to see that for 2024 we’re not just pushing it out in exciting times, but over time people are coming,” she said. “We can slowly hopefully fill in those gaps where things have been slower for our partners.”
A series of strategic moves
The CVB relocated to the historic CA&C Depot in 2020, establishing a visitor welcome center. It modernized its Visitor Guide Magazine and, in 2021, created the Green Spaces Guide.
The organization also underwent rebranding in 2021.
In 2022, it launched the 2022-23 visitor guide and hosted the inaugural Launch & Learn partner event. TrailAPALOOZA was another significant event.
2023 began a website redesign; the CVB launched the new site in 2024.
“Sixty-two pages of copy about Knox County was included on that website. We took a lot of time to really digest what it means when you’re having an entry point from all points of the county,” Toth said.
She said that in 2020, many CVB partners did not feel it was about Knox County.
“So we wanted to make sure that was a really hard focus that we took over the next four years,” she said. “So you’ll see from our website to our visitor guide how we made that conscious decision in a lot of our strategies to make sure that a lot of those unique places in our county are focused on.”
“There’s a lot of buckets that feed into why someone would want to come here, and we’re interested in all of those.”
Olivia toth, marketing manager for knox county cvb
The CVB also launched Placer.AI in 2024, software that collects data on foot traffic, where people go within the county, and how long they stay in each location.
Marketing translates to visitor spending
Toth said the CVB optimized its budget toward marketing, allocating 62% in 2024.
Marketing occurs through digital and print and includes distributing the travel guide at trade shows and advertising.
“We really take a look at how we make those guides move and how we make them work strategically,” she said. “We did have our guide go out to new markets this year as far as Michigan, Pittsburgh, and New York.”
Knox County had 10.1 million unique visits, stemming from 1.3 million visitors. That shows visitors are returning to the area.
“They have come back five to seven times, and that just shows us we have an offering that they like,” Toth explained. “And they might be telling more people about it. So we really like to see that percentage rise as we continue to grow and see that impact in other places.”
Toth said tourism and visitor spending supports nearly 2,000 jobs, with a real impact in food and beverage sales.
“It really lets us understand how people are entering the county from the most used roadways from where they were before they went to that event,” Toth said.
She cited the April solar eclipse as an example, which showed a 60% increase in visitors compared to previous Mondays.
“It’s really providing the opportunity for us to be really strategic for our partners,” she said.
Funding
The county (87%) and city (9%) bed tax funds the CVB. The remaining 4% comes from earned interest.
In 2023, the bed tax total was $308,000; $30,000 came from the city and $278,000 from the county.
Bed tax income through September 2024 totals $239,160, roughly $23,000 more than budgeted.
“Obviously, that’s a good sum of money,” County Commissioner Teresa Bemiller said. “I like the idea that you are working out throughout the county, with the villages and everything, because we definitely want to see that happen.”
As of Dec. 31, 2023, the CVB had a cash balance of $445,549.96. Of that, $46,053 is in certificates of deposit.
Looking toward 2025
Toth said the CVB is focusing on America 250, the country’s 250th birthday celebration.
“We’ve tried to hone in on what we can own, what is going to work for our community and our assets,” she said. “What could we have at Ariel Foundation Park? … Staying in front of our partners when deciding what MTV Arts wants to bring to the stage: Is it a war drama? Is it Americana?
How do we do that?”
Another focus is the Knox County Airport and opportunities with its new aviation center.
“How are we greeting people when they arrive at the airport and when they’re leaving? Right now there’s an airport sign that says ‘Knox County Regional Airport Dead End,’” Toth said.
“How can we think about moving the mark a little bit different when it comes to these assets that are really driving business and driving visitation? The regional airport does a fantastic job.”
Another focus is outdated signs at county lines and ensuring that all entities pay the bed tax, specifically Airbnbs, including those in Apple Valley.
Toth and CVB treasurer Rene McDaniels acknowledged the difficulty in tracking Airbnbs.
“We really haven’t talked about us dedicating funds to having somebody track those down,” McDaniels said.
A copy of the 2024 Annual Impact Report is available at the Knox County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 501 S. Main St.
