Danville and Pittsylvania County tourism is on the rise, according to the latest numbers from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC).
In 2022, the City of Danville generated $112.7 million in direct visitor spending. Pittsylvania County generated $31.5 million in direct visitor spending. That is a 12.7% increase over 2021 for Danville, and a 9.3% increase for Pittsylvania County.
"These numbers are from before the Danville Casino opened, and before the new Visit SoSi tourism program, officially launched in May of this year," Lisa Meriwether, tourism manager for Visit SoSi, said. “In 2022, the tourism impact in SoSi had already surpassed pre-Covid levels and now look at all we’ve accomplished in 2023. There is a lot to be proud of in this region, and I’m excited that this community is fully leveraging this moment to grow intentionally, collaboratively, and with a focus on sustaining our high local quality of life.”
The 2022 VTC visitor spending report (https://vatc.org/research/economicimpact/) shows direct tourism impact across the Commonwealth as well. The state experienced its highest economic impact from tourism in six years, with $30.3 billion reported for 2022. This exceeded 2019 pre-covid levels by 4.4%.
In late spring of 2023, the City of Danville published its first ever regional tourism master plan and launched its new Visit SoSi tourism branding. To read the report and recommendations, visit the city of Danville's Office of Economic Development & Tourism website at http://www.danvilleva.gov. To learn more about all there is to see and do in SoSi, go to www.VisitSoSi.com and follow the newly created Visit SoSi social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
