FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (Sept. 18, 2026) — Direct visitor spending in the City’s tourism-related sectors
reached more than $183 million in 2025, a 7.3 percent increase from the previous year.
This spending directly supported 1,657 jobs, including part-time and seasonal work. Local wages,
salaries, proprietor income, and benefits supported by direct tourism spending also grew to $57 million,
a 5.2 percent increase.
“These numbers are exciting, but what they really show is the impact visitors have throughout
Fredericksburg,” said Danelle Rose, tourism marketing and communications manager for the City of
Fredericksburg. “When someone comes for a weekend, attends an event, visits one of our historic sites,
shops downtown or grabs dinner at a local restaurant, that spending stays right here in our community.
Our goal is to keep giving people new reasons to visit Fredericksburg, stay a little longer and, hopefully,
start planning their next trip before they even leave.”
According to the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), tourism in Virginia generated a record-high $36.2
billion in visitor spending in 2025. Visitor spending increased 3.1 percent, or $1.1 billion, over the
previous year, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth in visitor spending.
“The City of Fredericksburg has seen nearly 40 percent growth in the tourism expenditures since 2021,
more than doubling the growth seen in other regional localities over this same period of time. Council
investments in Riverfront Park, special events, the new Visitor Center, the FredNats stadium, and
significant private sector investments in our historic Downtown, and citywide, are paying dividends,”
stated City Manager Tim Baroody. “Being named recently the Best Main Street in the South and our
awarding winning tourism marketing campaign (VML Award for Communications 2026) are indications
of continued forward City momentum.”
Tourism directly generated more than $2.6 billion in state and local tax revenue over the previous year.
Including tourism’s full ripple effect across Virginia’s economy, visitors saved the average Virginia
household $1,020 in state and local taxes while helping fund schools, public safety, transportation, and
other essential local services. Virginia’s tourism industry directly supported nearly 232,000 jobs, an
increase of more than 2,700 jobs over the previous year and generated $10.6 billion in wages and
salaries for Virginians.
Leisure travel remained the primary driver of Virginia’s tourism growth, accounting for 90 percent of
overnight visitation as travelers increasingly sought high-value destinations closer to home. That trend
helped fuel strong performance in Virginia’s leisure-focused regional destinations