Governor Bill Lee and Tourism Commissioner Mark Ezell point to continued growth, visitor spending and Dolly Parton’s lasting influence on Tennessee.
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (Smokies.LIVE Adventure Center) — Tennessee tourism leaders wrapped up the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Gatlinburg with record attendance and a message that the state’s tourism industry continues to grow at a pace that outpaces the nation.
Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Mark Ezell were among the leaders attending the conference, which brought tourism professionals together to discuss the industry’s economic impact and future.
For Lee, who is nearing the end of his second term as governor, the conference offered an opportunity to reflect on the transformation of Tennessee and the role tourism has played in that growth.
“Tennessee is different and you make it different,” Lee told conference attendees. “People love it. Everyone wants to travel here. All these businesses want to invest here because when they travel here, they see how much different we are.”
Lee thanked the state’s tourism and hospitality industry for its work and said its efforts have helped transform Tennessee.
The latest state tourism figures show visitors spent a record $32.5 billion in Tennessee in 2025, a 2.7% increase from 2024. Since 2018, visitor spending has increased 40%, compared with 22% nationally.
Tennessee recorded 150 million visits in 2025, with visitors spending an average of $89 million per day, according to the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. Tourism generated about $2 billion in state revenue and $1.3 billion in local tax revenue.
Ezell said the numbers demonstrate the importance of tourism not only to businesses but also to Tennessee taxpayers.
“What I don’t think residents of Tennessee realize is that being a sales tax state means that visitor taxes create revenue that keeps us from having to have an income tax or a state property tax or even helps us keep our property taxes low,” Ezell said.
He said continued growth in visitor-generated taxes remains important to the state’s economy.
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