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48 Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce 2022 Economic Trends 20 Industry: Tourism Savannah exudes a beauty and charm that few, if any, destinations can match. Savannah's tourism and hospitality industry continues to be one of the largest economic drivers for the region. Travel to Savannah remains strong, and the city enjoys visitors from all over the world. Recently, Savannah was included in Time Magazine's list of "The World's Greatest Places 2021". The Savannah tourism sector suffered in 2020, due to the pandemic, with total overnight person-stays decreasing from 8.4 million in 2019 to 7.7 million in 2020. In 2020, 14.3 million visitors came to Savannah including 7.7 million overnight visitors and 6. million day-visitors. The demand for rooms decreased 29% in 2020, and visitor spending decreased by 9.7% to $2.8 billion. In 2020, room tax revenue fell to $18.2 million, a decrease of 34%. Tourism's Impact on Savannah/Chatham County 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Number of Lodging Rooms (1) 15,394 15,549 16,199 16,894 16,567 Person-Stays (Overnight) (2) 7.9 Million 8 Million 8.2 Million 8.4 Million 7.7 Million Room Night Demand (1) 3.7 Million 3.8 Million 3.9 Million 4.1 Million 2.9 Million Direct Spending (2) $2.8 Billion $2.9 Billion $3 Billion $3.1 Billion $2.8 Billion Room Tax Revenue (3) $24.4 Million $25.5 Million $26.7 Million $27.7 Million $18.2 Million Sources: Visit Savannah 1 Smith Travel Research – Chatham County 2 Longwoods International 3 City of Savannah/Chatham County/Tybee Island Savannah's tourists enjoy year-round activities. Although the busiest months in terms of visitation are April, May, and June, tourism activity is spread fairly evenly across the year. For overnight visitors, the mix is 89% leisure travel and 11% business and business-leisure. Over-night visitors stay approximately 2.5 nights in Savannah. Savannah excels in special interest tourism activities and continues to be an exciting destination. Savannah's distinctive qualities allow the city to stand out in the crowd. In top interest categories for overnight visitors, Savannah remains far ahead of typical national levels in exceptional culinary experiences, cultural activities and historic places. Sources: Longwoods Travel USA 2019 Visitor Final Report, via VisitSavannah.