175.6 Million People Visited Georgia Last Year. They Left $46.2 Billion Behind.
Georgia's tourism industry set another record in 2025, generating $84.1 billion in total economic impact and supporting nearly one in every 15 jobs across the state.
GEORGIA. Tourism can sound like an industry made up of hotel rooms, attractions and vacation photos.
Georgia's latest numbers show something much larger.
In 2025, the state welcomed a record 175.6 million domestic and international visitors. Those travelers spent $46.2 billion at lodging properties, restaurants, transportation businesses and other local companies, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
The result was the state's fourth consecutive year of record tourism performance.
The direct spending is only part of the economic footprint
The state says tourism generated $84.1 billion in total statewide economic impact in 2025.
That includes the direct money visitors spent, plus the wider business activity created as tourism dollars moved through payrolls, suppliers and local economies.
The tourism-supported workforce reached 473,837 direct, indirect and induced jobs, which Georgia officials say represents about one in every 15 jobs in the state.
Visitor spending also feeds local and state government
Georgia says 2025 tourism activity generated $5.3 billion in state and local tax revenue.
State officials estimate that tourism-generated taxes saved each Georgia household nearly $1,300 in annual taxes on average.
That figure is an estimate based on the tax revenue tourism activity generated, not a direct rebate to households.
But it helps show why communities compete aggressively for conventions, sporting events, festivals, leisure travelers and business visitors.
Georgia remained No. 5 for domestic overnight visitation
The state ranked No. 5 nationally for domestic overnight visitation for the sixth consecutive year.
Visitor volume has grown from 152.3 million in 2019 to 175.6 million in 2025, an increase of more than 15% over that period.
Visitor spending rose even faster, increasing about 22% from 2019 through 2025.
Why Jekyll Island belongs in the story
The record numbers were announced during the 2026 Georgia Governor's Tourism Conference at the Jekyll Island Convention Center.
That location is fitting.
The Golden Isles represent the kind of tourism economy that spreads spending across lodging, restaurants, retail, recreation, transportation and locally owned businesses.
Jekyll Island is one destination, but the statewide numbers are built from hundreds of communities doing the same thing at different scales.
The Georgia inside the story
A visitor does not have to move to Georgia to affect Georgia's economy.
They only have to spend money here.
The Georgia inside this story is that tourism imports purchasing power. In 2025, 175.6 million visitors brought tens of billions of dollars into local businesses across the state, and that spending supported nearly half a million jobs before those visitors ever went home.