Tourism drives record growth for Vigo County
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Vigo County saw record revenue from visitors last year, according to tourism officials. Our partners at WTWO-TV report the Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau collected $2.8 million from the innkeepers tax, and officials expect to surpass the $3 million mark in 2023.
Executive Director David Patterson said 2022 was the eighth consecutive year of growth aside from 2020, when tourism was impacted by the pandemic.
The innkeepers tax is an 8% tax on all overnight lodging in Vigo County.
Patterson told the station the two largest drivers of the tourism growth were the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course and The Mill Event Center and Amphitheater.
“Fifty thousand people go through those gates through 16 events [at Lavern], which is pretty impressive,” Patterson said. “The Mill has been a great addition too; they’re up at around 50,000 people per year.”
The cross country course saw additional growth in 2022 with the opening of a new climate-controlled athletic medical building and upgrades to its finish-line structure.
The record numbers can also be attributed to the new Terre Haute Convention Center, a $25 million facility that had its grand opening last April.
Patterson said he expects more success this year, mentioning that the convention center already has every weekend booked in November.
But he reiterated a need for more hotel rooms in Terre Haute.
“If [visitors are] driving four hours to stay an hour away, that’s just not good business,” Patterson said. “They want to be here where the action is.”
It’s an issue that is already being addressed. In a recent interview with Inside INdiana Business Host Gerry Dick, Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett said plans are in the works for two new hotels and an adjacent parking garage near the convention center.
“We knew when we built the convention center, we needed about 400 rooms downtown; we’ve got 200 now,” Bennett said. “These next two hotels will deliver those extra rooms, and then the parking garage will support that based on what their agreements are with the franchises. That will kind of finish out what we need to fully utilize the convention center.”
Patterson said he is optimistic the county can reach $3 million in innkeepers tax collections this year.
You can watch the full report from WTWO’s Terry Craig by clicking here.