Jackson Free Press

Last year, an estimated 3 million people visited Jackson's tourist spots, events, festivals and conventions, spending more than $294 million.

The Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau released its estimates of the economic impact tourism has on the city earlier this month. The estimates showed that 20,409 people work in tourism-related jobs in Jackson, earning about $409 million.

Even during a tough economy, Jackson's tourism has stayed strong.

"When we first had the economic downturn, the big cities like Los Angeles and Vegas were hit really hard," said Marika Cackett, spokeswoman for the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau. Because Jackson is not a top-tier market that draws huge crowds--and commands a larger price tag--its numbers remained relatively steady.

"People still have to have reunions, they still have to have meetings, so that's where markets like Jackson kind of bubble up to the top," Cackett said. "We have a lot of value for what we offer."

Jackson is on the intersection of major interstate highways and has great restaurants, but still boasts a lower price tag. Cackett said she expects the city to attract even more visitors as jobs come back and development projects such as Farish Street get off the ground.

Last year, Jacksonians spent about $19 million on construction, expansion and renovation of tourism-related projects, such as hotels and museums.

Mississippi as a whole brought in about $587.6 million in state and local tax revenues attributed to travel and tourism in 2011.

2011_Estimated_Impact_of_Tourism_in_Jackson.pdf

Previous Comments

ID

167868

Comment

How do they figure the amount of people that visit Jackson or any place each year? Not all people who visit Jackson stay in hotels or even stay overnight.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2012-06-01T08:46:32-06:00

ID

167869

Comment

The CVB estimated the number of visitors to tourist attractions, events, conventions, etc.; I don't think they were looking at the total number of people who visited the city. I did upload a fact sheet above with some more details, in case anyone is interested.

Author

lizwaibel

Date

2012-06-01T09:25:20-06:00

ID

167872

Comment

OK, thanks. I'll look at it when I get some more time.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2012-06-01T14:23:21-06:00