2025 State of the Visitor Industry: Year-End Report

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The 2025 State of the Visitor Industry: Year-End Report, released today by Experience Columbus and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission (GCSC), highlights a milestone year for the travel economy, marked by strong year-over-year growth across hotel, convention and sports-related metrics. 
 
The year opened with the NHL Stadium Series featuring the Columbus Blue Jackets at Ohio Stadium, a historic first. Coinciding with the Arnold Sports Festival, these events generated nearly $40 million in direct visitor spending and produced the second-most attended hockey game in NHL history. 

Leisure travel continued to grow in the second year of the Yes, Columbus campaign, garnering more than 319 million impressions in 2025 and driving a 47% arrival lift among those exposed to Experience Columbus advertising, according to Arrivalist. The campaign continued to leverage top national accolades earned for the city including recognition in Food & Wine as one of America’s Next Great Food Cities and by Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards as one of the top 10 best big cities in the U.S., one of the friendliest cities and one of the food cities in the country.

“In 2026, Experience Columbus celebrates its 85th anniversary, and I am proud of all we achieved, both in 2025 and throughout our history,” said Experience Columbus President and CEO Brian Ross, ECI. “As we look ahead, we are excited for the opportunities the next few years will bring, especially our continued impact on the community as the destination revenue driver and marketing engine for the Columbus region. The recent opening of our new Columbus Welcome Center also marks a new chapter, and we’re thrilled to have this gathering spot for visitors and residents alike.” 

From Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025, Columbus hosted a total of 349 conventions, trade shows and sporting events. In May, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair brought students from 60 countries to share outstanding STEM research and compete for more than $8 million in awards and scholarships. In August, the VFW National Convention returned to Columbus, attracting approximately 6,000 attendees and making national news with the election of the VFW’s first female national leader, while celebrating the city’s historical connection to the organization. September saw more than 6,000 attendees arrive for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, representing $8.6 million in direct visitor spending and nearly 16,000 room nights, highlighted by a collaborative STEM fair with The Ohio State University and statewide outreach to educators.  
 
From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025, the STR report, which provides premium data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry, shows that all key performance metrics increased year over year. 

*RevPAR is a hotel industry performance metric, which is calculated by multiplying a hotel’s ADR by its occupancy rate. 
 
Bed tax collections from Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2025 totaled $59,966,975, up 1% over the same period in 2024, according to reports from the Office of City of Columbus Auditor Megan Kilgore.  

Looking ahead, Experience Columbus and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission booked 460 conventions, meetings, trade shows and sporting events for future years and conducted 75 site visits for meeting and event professionals representing a total of 261,258 room nights in future business. In his 2025 State of the City Address, Mayor Andrew Ginther, together with First Lady Shannon Ginther, announced a partnership with the Greater Columbus Sports Commission to declare Columbus’ aspiration to become the Nation’s Capital for Women’s Sports. The initiative’s pillars and branding are being developed and will be unveiled in spring 2026. This announcement comes as the city prepares to host the 2027 NCAA Women’s Final Four and Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, further solidifying Columbus’s leadership in women’s sports. 

“In 2025 we hosted more than 100 events, including 61 new events and secured 100-plus bookings for the future. Those totals helped create a memorable 2025, while paving a path for the years to come,” said Greater Columbus Sports Commission CEO and President Linda Logan, ECI.  “Events like the NHL Stadium Series, Stonewall Sports National Tournament and Summit and the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship brought thousands of people here and put Columbus in the headlines across the country.” 

To view past Experience Columbus and Greater Columbus Sports Commission quarterly reports, visit ExperienceColumbus.com/Reports.  

About Experience Columbus  
Celebrating 85 years in 2026, Experience Columbus is the destination marketing organization for the Columbus region dedicated to growing visitor spending and enhancing the visitor experience. Annually, visitors make 53.2 million trips to Greater Columbus for conventions, trade shows, sporting events and leisure visits, spending $8.2 billion and supporting more than 82,500 jobs. For more information, visit ExperienceColumbus.com.  
 
About the Greater Columbus Sports Commission 
The Greater Columbus Sports Commission’s mission is to rally Columbus to compete and win sporting events, providing a singular athlete and fan experience and positively impacting image, economy and lifestyle. Since 2002, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission has hosted more than 1,375 sporting events, generating an estimated $1.8 billion in direct visitor spending. For more information, visit ColumbusSports.org.   

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Media Contacts:  
Leah Berger, APR, ECI: lberger@experiencecolumbus.com | 614-222-6145 
Cameron Walker, ECI: cwalker@experiencecolumbus.com | 614-222-6146