RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia's tourism industry seems to be climbing back to its pre-pandemic levels.
For Joe and Linda Fuchs and their dog Rascal, life is one big road trip. As the former Pennsylvanians cross the country, they visit Virginia around twice a year. This time, they are stopping in New Kent on their way to Florida after five days in Chesapeake.
"Virginia is beautiful and the people are friendly," Joe said.
In 2021, more people seemed to join the Fuchs' sentiment and show a lot of love for the Commonwealth, according to a new study by the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
"Travelers spent $69 million a day. That's up from $48 million in 2020," Andrew Cothern, the communications manager for the Virginia Tourism Corporation, said.
Cothern said that statewide spending for 2021 reached over $25 billion. While this is a 44% increase from 2020, it's not quite at pre-pandemic 2019's $29 billion, but it is close.
"Thankfully, people are wanting to get out more. They want to explore more, they're tired of being home, they want to get out and travel again," Cothern said.
Cothern said that outdoor activities are what drove resurgence, along with the Blue Ridge, Shenandoah and the coastal region leading the way.
"We're on a golf package down in Williamsburg, a bunch of us that play together," Dennis, a visiting golfer, said.
Central Virginia had the third-highest total spending, led by Henrico County pulling in $1.3 billion. Richmond and Chesterfield were second and third respectively. Cothern said these numbers speak to the area having a little bit of everything.
"We've got like a small city feel. And we got a great dining scene. There's outdoor recreation opportunities, there's a ton of history, a lot of family activities," Cothern said.
Cothern said on the current trajectory, 2022's numbers should meet or exceed 2019's and VTC said they will continue their efforts to draw in more visitors.
"We're also providing a number of different grant opportunities for our destination organizations as well as localities. We received a $50 million from the American Rescue Plan which we are giving to the various localities," Cothern said.
