West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey punctuated his state conference on tourism last week with an exclamation mark as he revealed record-setting numbers from the state tourism industry. The Governor noted that “This tourism boom is a direct reflection of the hard work happening in every corner of our state, proving that when we cut red tape and move at the speed of business, travelers and companies alike are ready to experience everything West Virginia has to offer.”
The numbers revealed that the Mountain State tourism economy grew by 1.6 percent in 2025 over the previous year, with over 78.4 million visitors. The release from the Governor’s Office added that “overnight travelers grew by nearly two percent, injecting $6.8 billion directly into local communities, averaging $18.7 million spent every single day to support small businesses, lodging, and outdoor recreation.” Accolades came from outside the state as well, as “Travel + Leisure recently ranked West Virginia as the second most naturally beautiful state in America, noting it as the only state in the top ten to perform consistently well across every category measured.”
Since 2021, efforts to develop and build the tourism economy in West Virginia have been led by a Cabinet-level West Virginia Department of Tourism. In March, the West Virginia State Legislature created the entity at the request of then-Governor Jim Justice. Chelsea Ruby, who had led the former office as Commissioner, took over as Secretary.
As the Department, commonly called West Virginia Tourism at the time, opened its work, it established a mission to “unify and promote the State’s ‘Almost Heaven’ brand, advance tourism development, and promote the Mountain State to a broader audience, featuring West Virginia as a year-round travel destination to both national and international travelers.
Impact was felt immediately. A report by Oxford Tourism Economics showed that tourism spending rocketed by 17 percent between 2017 and 2022. The pandemic encouraged more travelers to experience remote and outdoor recreation. Inflationary pressures have also resulted in Americans looking at shorter trips by car, as opposed to longer drives or airline flights to tourist destinations.
By 2024, the total tourism spending expanded to $6.3 billion, 5.6 percent more than the year prior and welcomed more visitors to the state than in any year prior. At the time, seven percent of West Virginia jobs had some reliance on the tourism economy.
Branding by West Virginia Tourism helped to elevate the Mountain State as a preferred destination. Between January and June this year, a record number of West Virginia Vacation Guides were sent out. Requests increased by 92 percent over 2025. Said Secretary Chelsea Ruby last spring in West Virginia Explorer, “each year we aim to inspire more travelers to experience the beauty of Almost Heaven firsthand and the global response to this year’s guide has been absolutely incredible.”
Branding converged with tourism trends, putting the state ahead of the national pace in growing a tourism economy.
That said, West Virginia Tourism also took a proactive and hands-on approach in encouraging county and municipal convention and visitors bureaus, as well as different types of partnerships to encourage development.
Secretary Ruby resigned over the summer, her role filled by former delegate Kayla Kessinger. She noted in a release from Governor Patrick Morrisey that “over the last several years, the Department of Tourism has changed the way people see our state and, in a lot of ways, has put West Virginia on the map.”
The Governor noted that “tourism is about more than bringing people to West Virginia. It’s about telling the story of who we are.” He added that Kessinger excels at the business of connecting people and organizations, stating that “she’s a coalition builder. A lot of people don’t realize the importance of that in tourism, because you’re coordinating a lot of the local chambers, the convention bureaus, all the different people who make West Virginia special.”
West Virginia Tourism’s numbers by visitor spending place Jefferson County as the top travel and tourism economy in the state with a little more than $900 million in economic impact. Kanawha County, fueled by State government and multiple colleges and universities, came in second with $565 million. Important to remember, visitor travel includes not only tourism, but also pass through travelers as well as those coming to an area for work instead of pleasure. Visits by parents and others to college students also impact the tourism numbers.
Jefferson County comes in second to Pocahontas, however, when spending is examined per capita. In a recent year, it saw $19,240 per person spent. Jefferson had $14,670 per person. Ohio came in third with $13,030, and Tucker fourth with $12,880 per person. Monongalia and Kanawha placed at 10th and 11th respectively.
Harrison placed 15th at $3,450, Hardy 16th with $3,265, Randolph 19th at $2,880, and Pendleton at 20th, with tourism and travel spending at $2,690 per person.
A per capita ranking illustrates the statistics better in terms of how well a county performs despite being urban or rural, or sparsely or heavily populated. It reflects the impact of the effort undertaken at the local level more than advantages underlying certain county numbers, such as Kanawha.
The impact of hosting a residential college or university also makes a difference. Gilmer County, home of Glenville State University, holds a ranking of 38th with $1,070 spent per person by visitors. Neighboring Calhoun County, despite the presence of popular tourist sites, ranks 51 with $650 spent per resident. Preston County has a number of strikingly beautiful, accessible, and popular scenic spots, but has about one third the per capita spending ($1,100) as Monongalia ($3,660).
