NEW KENT — New Kent County celebrated an increase in tourism spending to more than $240 million in 2024 during a record-breaking year for tourism in the Richmond area.
Richmond Region Tourism President and CEO Katherine O’Donnell said about 18.3 million people visited the Richmond area in 2024, a 2.2% increase over 2023. New Kent benefited from the visitor boom, she told the county’s Board of Supervisors on Nov. 12.
“In New Kent County, you had a great year in 2024,” O’Donnell said. Visitor spending rose by 4.9% to $240.4 million last year. Tourism generated $11.4 million in local taxes and supported 2,407 jobs, equating to $78.7 million in wages.
Richmond Region Tourism experimented in new markets such as Bermuda after non-stop flights were launched between Richmond and the island in February. Mobile billboards were wrapped around Uber and Lyft cars in Washington D.C. to highlight Richmond and the surrounding areas as a destination.
O’Donnell singled out the Colonial Downs racetrack as a major tourism driver and said the operators’ decision to move the Virginia Derby to the spring proved to be beneficial. “One big highlight for us was the Virginia Derby … by moving the date to March and having it as a qualifier for the Kentucky Derby, it was a sell-out event,” she said.
Danielle Fitz-Hugh, vice president of community relations, highlighted the “I Am Tourism” program, which was hosted by Jolene Family Winery in New Kent earlier this month. “I Am Tourism” is a two-hour educational program on “everything there is to do in your backyard and just an overview of the tourism economy here,” she said.
New Kent has also benefitted from initiatives such as the Richmond Region Mimosa Trail, which was launched in 2023 and puts local brunch and mimosa restaurants on the map. It is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
