2026 State of the Visitor Industry: First Quarter Report

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The 2026 State of the Visitor Industry: First Quarter Report made available today by Experience Columbus and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission shows a thriving local travel economy with year over year growth across all key performance indicators. Columbus continues to earn new accolades and make headlines as a top travel destination with recognition from Travel + Leisure, National Geographic, USA Today and Eater during the first quarter.  

“One of the biggest moments of the first quarter was the opening of our new Columbus Welcome Center in February,” said Brian Ross, ECI, President and CEO of Experience Columbus. “During the first two months alone, we welcomed more than 3,000 visitors into our new space. We’re excited to serve as a community gathering spot—a place for visitors and residents to get information about the Columbus region, purchase souvenirs, enjoy various activations and pop-ups.” 

Also during the first quarter, Columbus stepped into the global spotlight as the location for Season 10 of Netflix’s “Love Is Blind.” Experience Columbus celebrated with a citywide campaign that highlighted local filming locations, interviews with the singles, weekly watch parties and several special events. Through its annual spring break campaign, Experience Columbus invited visitors to travel to Ohio’s capital city. According to Arrivalist, the campaign generated a 56% increase in visitation and an 86% lift in visitor spending among audiences exposed to Experience Columbus advertising. 

Always looking to the future, Experience Columbus also announced a new pilot project with Satisfi Labs, the leading conversational Agentic AI platform for sports, entertainment and tourism and a longtime AI partner of Experience Columbus. The program deploys connected networks of AI agents across entire city tourism ecosystems and will provide Columbus organizations and attractions with first party data access and ensure the most optimal experience. Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens reports that as a result of the pilot project, staff have saved more than 50 hours and the agent has helped reduce the volume of routine requests and respond outside of normal business hours.   
 
From Jan. 1 through March 31, 2026, Columbus hosted a total of 102 conventions, trade shows and sporting events, up 12% year over year. The Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ SEEK event kicked off the year and welcomed 17,500 attendees and brought in an estimated $10.2 million in direct visitor spending. Also in January, Columbus hosted the American Baseball Coaches Association with 10,000 attendees and an estimated $10.3 million in direct visitor spending. Returning for the 38th year was the Arnold Sports Festival, which welcomed 100,000 attendees and an estimated $16.8 million in direct visitor spending.  
 
Columbus hosted more than a dozen sporting events during the first quarter, including the SheBelieves Cup in March, which brought in an estimated $950,000 in direct visitor spending, as well as four Ohio High School Athletic Association Championships with a combined direct visitor spending of $8 million. 

“We welcomed several big volleyball events to the Greater Columbus Convention Center, further solidifying Columbus’ spot as a hotbed for the sport,” said Greater Columbus Sports Commission CEO and President Linda Logan. “Working with Mayor Ginther’s office, we launched IgniteHER Columbus, the city’s women’s and girls sports initiative, at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field just a few hours before the SheBelieves Cup kicked off. Another huge highlight of the first quarter was the announcement that Columbus will be home to the first Olympic competition in Ohio when we host nine matches in the LA28 Olympic Football (Soccer) Tournament.” 

From Jan. 1 to March 31, 2026, the STR report, which provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry, shows that all key performance metrics grew compared to the same period last 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 through March 31, 2026, totaled $13.9M, up 24% over the same period in 2025, according to reports from the Office of City of Columbus Auditor Jacquelin R. Lewis.  

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.    

### 

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