Traverse City Tourism (TCT) has published its latest economic impact report, showing that tourism had a $1.4 billion local economic impact in 2022. According to Mike Kent, TCT’s public relations manager, that number “represents a $1 million increase from a study done the previous year.”

The study was conducted in what TCT calls “the Greater Traverse City Region,” which includes Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Benzie counties. TCT represents hotels and other properties in all three of those counties.

The report paints a picture of a local tourism industry that isn’t just recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but actually outpacing pre-COVID numbers. For instance, according to the report, the aforementioned “Greater Traverse City Region” tallied 7.3 million total visitors in 2022 – up 5 percent compared to the year before and 11 percent compared to “pre-pandemic levels.” With those 2022 numbers, tourism reportedly supported 8,954 local jobs, yielded $349 million in local “labor income,” and generated $134 million in state and local taxes.

The lion’s share of the $1.4 billion economic impact comes directly from customer spending: Per the TCT report, visitors to the Greater Grand Traverse region spent $1 billion in 2022 – a surprising 23 percent above 2019 levels, when visitor spending amounted to $834,000. The top five spending categories? Lodging ($423.7 million, or 41 percent), food and beverage ($200.5 million, or 20 percent), transportation ($162.5 million, or 16 percent), recreation and entertainment ($127.3 million, or 12 percent), and retail ($109.7 million, or 11 percent).

The full report – which was prepared for TCT by Tourism Economics, part of the Oxford Economics Company – can be found on the TCT website.