Accomack and Northampton set records for 2021 tourism spending

Accomack and Northampton boasted record years in tourism spending in 2021 according to a report Wednesday from Virginia Tourism.

Tourism spending in 2021 was up 42.6% over 2020 in Accomack County, grossing $168.5 million, the largest number ever recorded. The tourism spending generated $10.1 million in state, $6.4 million of which are local taxes.

Accomack’s tourism revenue had fallen 12.3% in 2020.

Northampton also set a record for the highest number ever recorded, with visitor spending jumping 65.9% to 68.3 million overall in 2021. $4.2 million in state and local taxes were generated from this spending, the local portion being $2.6 million.

Similarly, Northampton’s tourism revenue took a 15% hit in 2020 from 2019.

According to the report, Tourism supports 1,291 employees in Accomack County and 376 in Northampton County.

Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) announced that travelers to Virginia spent $69 million a day in 2021, up from $48 million in 2020. Virginia’s tourism revenues also reached $25.2 billion in 2021, marking an 87% recovery to pre-pandemic spending in 2019.

This spending supported 185,000 jobs, $7.1 billion in salaries and wages, and $1.8 billion in state and local taxes. 80 of Virginia’s 133 localities fully recovered to 2019 levels of spending and many grew even further.