Home » VisitLEX report shows city earned 1.1 billion media impressions from national outlets in 2019

VisitLEX report shows city earned 1.1 billion media impressions from national outlets in 2019

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — VisitLEX today released its results for 2019 with record hotel room revenue and transient room taxes collected leading the way.

“The tourism industry enjoyed a strong 2019,” said Mary Quinn Ramer, president of VisitLEX. Increases in hotel room revenue spurred by modest growth in Average Daily Rate (ADR) led to an increase in transient room tax.”

Here are some highlights from 2019:

  • Transient room tax revenue grew in 2019 and exceeded $16.6 million. Those tax revenues are reinvested in the community to make Lexington an even more attractive place to live and visit.
  • Total hotel room revenue topped $196 million – an increase of $5 million from 2018.
  • More than 26,000 visitors came to the Visitors Center in 2019.
  • Craft beer tourism continued to grow with several new craft breweries added to the Brewgrass Trail for a total of 18. More than 450 people completed their passports by visiting at least six breweries – which triples the number of passports from 2018. Another bourbon distillery opened, which means there are now 15 available within 45 miles of downtown Lexington.
  • Lexington garnered more than 1.1 billion media impressions from top national media outlets such as USA Today, The New York Times, the Today Show, Southern Living, Rolling Stone, Town & Country and Architectural Digest. National rankings and recognitions included:
    • AFAR: The Best Weekend Getaways in the United States
    • Entertainment Weekly: Named Railbird to the Ultimate 2019 Summer Music Festival List
    • Country Living: 30 Best Weekend Getaways in the South
  • All social media platforms increased their fans and followers. The #sharethelex uses on Instagram again led the way with more than 653,000 uses – a 30 percent increase from 2018. In addition, video views reached almost 3.4 million.

For more information go to VisitLEX’s website.

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