The 12.7 million people who visited Louisville in 2011 spent $1.4 billion locally, creating $173 million in tax revenues and sustaining 22,100 jobs, the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau says. Meanwhile, the LCVB said its marketing efforts on behalf of the city increased room occupancy of leisure travelers by about 25 percent.Those figures come from a study released Thursday conducted by the Urban Studies Institute at the University of Louisville.The study adds: Tourism generates more than $173 million in tax revenues, most of it going to the Commonwealth. However, Louisville Metro receives $9.6 million in tourism-related taxes. Most of the tax is paid directly by the tourists while the rest is paid by employees of tourism-related industries in the form of occupational taxes. Jefferson County Public Schools receive about $2.7 million annual from taxes associated with tourism.In a statement, Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau chief executive Jim Wood said: "This report validates the importance and the impact tourism has on our community, from economic impact to jobs to generating much needed tax revenue, tourism is one of the key drivers in Louisville's overall economy."
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