Billions Were Spent in the Smoky Mountain Tourist Areas in 2022

Yes, that is right. Billions…plural. Everyone knows that tourism is a big boost on the budget in the area, and last year was no different. Tennessee tourism, overall, is huge in allowing no state income tax to be deducted on our paychecks. It’s a double-edged sword when it comes to locals who have to deal with this increased traffic on a daily basis. Sure, it can be tough, but if you’re used to it or prepared for it, you’ll hopefully not have too many problems scheduling necessary driving trips around large visitor events. I know many still have to drive to work in the area, and that is the biggest stress on locals. Let’s get into some of the numbers.

It’s quite staggering that half of the tourism dollars in 2022 were from lodging. When you begin to think about this though, it’s not surprising. We haven’t booked a cabin since 2015. The reason? We weren’t willing to spend over a thousand dollars alone on accommodations. We like to spend a good portion of our money on the many superb restaurants in Gatlinburg. Clearly, it’s not an issue for others, and that’s perfectly fine. We all set aside different amounts of money for vacation, and if you don’t think you’ll be back to the Smokies, then you’re probably needing more.

While visitors spent a little over 2 billion last year, the overall benefit to the economy was 3.3 billion. That’s more good news for the job market in the Smoky Mountain region. We’re still seeing many hiring signs around Gatlinburg, wages have gone up in recent years, and for the most part, we aren’t running into issues as a consequence of staffing. The coming fall season will be a big indicator of how businesses are handling the larger crowds.

Restaurants saw approximately 400 million dollars worth of cash flow in 2022. This is understandable from our perspective. Some people go on vacation and still want to cook their own food. And hey, this is an excellent way to save money eating out. We, on the other hand, choose not to cook when we’re away from home. Temptations get the best of us, as you may know by now. Our all-time favorite restaurants are right here in Gatlinburg (and one of them in Pigeon Forge). They can’t be denied, and it was always tough weeding out a few we couldn’t find time for on our past vacations here.

Well, there you have it. Plenty of zeros added up to another big tourism amount being spent last year. We happily contributed to some of it!

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