Virginia’s tourism industry generated $30.3 billion in visitor spending in 2022, an increase of 20.3 percent from 2021, exceeding 2019 levels by 4.4 percent, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Virginia Tourism Corporation announced Tuesday.

The tourism industry in Virginia directly supported 210,721 jobs in 2022, an increase of more than 25,000 jobs relative to 2021, but still down about 30,000 jobs relative to 2019.

Travelers spent $83 million per day in Virginia, up from $69 million in 2021. Virginia visitors directly drove nearly $2.2 billion in state and local tax revenues, an increase of 19.1 percent from $1.8 billion in 2021. Overnight visitation to Virginia increased by 10 percent to 42.2 million visitors, up from 38.3 million in 2020.

“Travel and tourism play an essential role in Virginia’s economy,” said Youngkin. “Reviving our tourism industry was a crucial goal to our economic recovery, and our focused efforts on employment and business growth has proven to be successful for the commonwealth.”

Virginia has recovered significantly from the pandemic, but the recovery has been uneven across geographic and travel sectors. While the initial onset of the pandemic had a devastating impact on the travel industry in 2020, domestic leisure travel saw a robust return in 2021 as travelers sought outdoor experiences and drivable destinations. The commonwealth is uniquely positioned geographically and is within a day’s drive from nearly half of the U.S. population. As road trips boomed, many Virginia regions reaped the benefits of increased travel.

The leading tourism sectors in Virginia are recreation and food and beverage, which have exceeded 2019 levels by 10 percent.