Tourism revenue in Mathews County increased 2.8 percent between 2017 and 2018, double the revenue growth of the prior 12 months, according to a press release from Emily Allen, executive director of the Mathews County Visitor and Information Center.

Allen said the figures came from data recently released by the United States Travel Association and Virginia Tourism Corporation.

Local sales and meals taxes indicate high travel spending, said Allen, and Mathews has now enjoyed nearly a full fiscal year of collecting the lodging tax, “a small but steady step toward providing more out-of-county revenue to our local budget that does not come out of Mathews residents’ pockets.”

Allen said that several tourism initiatives are making efforts to capitalize on increased tourism to this area, including Middle Peninsula Alliance’s Tourism Advisory Committee, which is developing a “Discover Virginia’s Middle Peninsula” destination brand through a marketing...