(Roanoke, VA) -- A new report finds tourism is up in Southwest Virginia. Sara Bartlett has the story.Preview: Voicer Script:
The Virginia Tourism Corporation says visitor spending reached one-point-three-billion dollars in the region in 2023. That includes an eight-point-three percent increase from the year before. Virginia tourism officials suggest weather temperatures dropping and fall leaves on full display are reasons for the increase in tourism dollars. Tourism-based jobs are also seeing an increase, rising to a total of more than 12-thousand recently.