Hamilton County Visitor Spending Reaches $1.8 Billion | Local News

Hamilton County broke another record for visitor spending last year, with $1.8 billion circulated back into the economy, according to the Chattanooga Tourism Company’s recently released annual report.

This is nearly a 4.3% growth from last year.

Cirium’s recent study cites a 32% increase in seat capacity for the upcoming third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

“This is a significant increase for us, and, on average, 12,000 people are spending the night in our hotels every night, and they’re spending $5 million a day in our community,” says Barry White, President and CEO of Chattanooga Tourism Company.

Many might think the biggest money-makers are the world-class attractions or events you won’t find anywhere else, like the upcoming World of Bluegrass festival – estimated to bring more than 50,000 people this year – but it’s our local food and beverage industry that’s making the biggest difference.

With the help of Lee, $15 million is now included in the 2025-2026 budget to be used for both upkeep and updating the Riverfront Parks in Chattanooga.

“It’s really the restaurants, then hotels, then retail and attractions,” White says.

Whether it’s the biggest names, or the mom-and-pop shops you can find scattered across the county, they all matter.

Rock City is undergoing its first visual rebrand in over 20 years, and it’s all about the gnomes.

“It’s estimated that about 30% of the restaurant business is from people out of town,” says White.

But, some might be wondering how this is possible with what feels like more closings than usual.

We did some digging and pulled the number of business licenses issued and business closings from September 1, 2024 to September 1, 2025 in Hamilton County.

• For minimal businesses (businesses that generate less than $100,000 in revenue) 1,551 were issued, and 200 businesses closed.

• For standard businesses (businesses that make more than $100,000 in revenue) 1,041 new licenses were issued. We couldn’t get a hold of the state to find the number of closings. 

Hamilton County’s Chamber of Commerce says it’s hard to determine whether this pattern is normal because of a recent change in the gross limit for minimal business licenses, which changed from a minimum of $10,000 to $100,000 in 2023.

Regardless, businesses are the driving force behind the county’s large tourism numbers, which is why support is crucial.

“We have had a few restaurants close and a few businesses close, but, again, the more visitors we bring into the community, helps those businesses thrive,” White says.