Visitor economy
Bath County
County · Virginia Mountains. Visitors spent $129M here in 2025, up 10.2% on 2024 and up 50.6% on 2019.
$129M
Visitor spending, 2025
43 of 133 localities
476
Jobs supported
69 of 133
$6.6M
Local taxes from visitors
39 of 133
$25M
Wages paid
$3.3M in state taxes
Ten years of visitor spending
Where the money went in 2025
Lodging is the largest single category here at $80M, 62.0% of everything visitors spent.
- Lodging
- $80M62.0%
- Food and drink
- $27M21.0%
- Retail
- $2.7M2.1%
- Recreation
- $15M11.9%
- Transport
- $3.8M2.9%
Lodging includes short-term rentals and second-home spending. Transport covers both ground and air.
Year by year
| Year | Total | Change | Lodging | Food | Retail | Recreation | Transport | Jobs | Local tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $129M | +10.2% | $80M | $27M | $2.7M | $15M | $3.8M | 476 | $6.6M |
| 2024 | $117M | +16.7% | $71M | $25M | $2.4M | $14M | $3.6M | 452 | $6.0M |
| 2023 | $100M | +13.8% | $61M | $21M | $2.2M | $12M | $3.3M | 423 | $5.2M |
| 2022 | $88M | +8.7% | $54M | $19M | $2.0M | $11M | $2.9M | 383 | $4.6M |
| 2021 | $81M | +60.3% | $51M | $16M | $1.8M | $9.4M | $2.2M | 343 | $4.1M |
| 2020 | $50M | -40.9% | $31M | $11M | $1.4M | $5.9M | $1.4M | 326 | $3.0M |
| 2019 | $85M | -2.9% | $55M | $17M | $1.9M | $9.5M | $2.9M | 498 | $4.7M |
| 2018 | $88M | +0.4% | $58M | $16M | $1.9M | $9.3M | $2.6M | 510 | $4.8M |
| 2017 | $88M | +3.5% | $59M | $15M | $1.8M | $8.8M | $2.4M | 526 | $5.0M |
| 2016 | $85M | — | $57M | $15M | $1.8M | $8.6M | $2.3M | 525 | $4.9M |
How that compares
- 0.36% of all visitor spending in Virginia, which totalled $36.20B in 2025.
- 10.4% of the Virginia Mountains region, which took $1.24B.
- Ranks 43 of 133 Virginia counties and independent cities by visitor spending, and 39 of 133 by the local taxes that spending returns.
- Statewide spending is +3.1% on 2024; Bath County is +10.2%.