LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The numbers are in. Last year, Kentucky tourism generated $13.8 billion in economic impact, with $4.2 billion alone coming from Louisville. 

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, said Louisville tourism generated more than $4 billion in economic impact in 2023

  • One visitor from Wisconsin said she loves the city, especially its downtown area 

  • Among the city's staples is the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, which said it sees more than 300,000 guests yearly 

  • 2023 was the best year on record for Kentucky tourism, according to its most recent report 

Wisconsin native Laura Laurenzi said she was visiting Louisville to visit family and attend a graduation. 

"It’s really cool to see how they make bats and how they find the wood, the types of woods," said Laurenzi, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, who spent time at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. 

She said she loves Louisville, and there are several reasons she keeps coming back.

“The people, of course, and friends," she said. "It’s a marvelous downtown. We’re looking forward to spending some more time down there and exploring all the new shops and distilleries."

Andrew Soliday, Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory marketing director, said the economic impact the city sees as a result of tourism benefits everyone. 

"It benefits businesses being attracted to the city, development happening," Soliday said. "These are the things that are going to push us forward.” 

Soliday said the museum sees more than 300,000 guests a year. 

“We love being one of the anchor attractions for our city," he said. "You can’t go to every city and see a Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, obviously."

"We do take a lot of pride that we really are authentic to Louisville, Kentucky, authentic to the State of Kentucky and authentic to Jefferson County."

Kentucky Peerless Distilling also gets visitors from all over the U.S. and the world. It opened in 2015 and said it continues to grow.

"I think the bourbon industry has just exploded so much ... we're seeing a huge, huge growth in tourism, (the) number of people coming in," said Christina Vassallo, marketing manager at Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. "We’ve had to open new experiences here for people just walking in the door without reservations. It's been awesome." 

2023 was the best year on record for Kentucky tourism, according to its most recent report. 

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