MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) - New numbers are shedding light on how important tourism is to Vermont’s economy.

The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing on Thursday released a new study by Tourism Economics. It found that 16 million people visited Vermont in 2024. They spent a record $4.2 billion on goods and services.

The report also said visitor spending represents 9% of the state’s GDP. The visitor economy directly supports almost 32,000 jobs, about 105 of Vermont’s workforce. The national average is only 4.6%.

The report shows visitors spent:

$1.5 billion on lodging

$876 million on food and drink

$680 million on retail

$678 million on gas and other transportation

$462 million on recreation and entertainment

$293.5 million on state and local taxes

The tax revenue, officials

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