Washington County tourism report
Visit Johnson City · Washington County TN — prepared for the county commission
Q2 2026
April – June
Visitor spending, trailing 12 months
$312.4M
up 6.2% over prior year
Occupancy tax collected, Q2 2026
$1.38M
up 9.8% over Q2 2025
What tourism saves each household
$341 / yr
in taxes, at current visitor levels
In plain terms
Visitors spent $312 million in Washington County over the past year — money earned by local hotels, restaurants, shops, and attractions. That activity produced $1.38 million in occupancy tax this quarter and saves every county household an estimated $341 a year in taxes residents would otherwise pay for the same services. Spending, tax collections, and repeat visitation all grew faster than last year.
Density trend — dollars per resident
County: $2,214 per resident, up 8.1% — regional goal is closing the gap with Sevier County ($38,822)
Top marketing result this quarter
Spring "Storytelling Capital" campaign — Charlotte: 4,180 tracked arrivals · 612 bookings · $1.42M tracked visitor spending. Every $1 of campaign spend returned an estimated $19 in visitor spending.
Repeat visitation: 34% of visitors had been here before — up 3 points.
Regional context: 23.8% of our visitors also visited a neighboring Northeast Tennessee county on the same trip — up 2.1 points. Visitors who cross county lines stay longer and spend more everywhere they go, including here.
Sources: TN Dept. of Tourist Development, county trustee records, regional movement data. Methodology at /methods. Prototype: figures shown are illustrative sample data.
Intelligence by Xperistar