2022 Annual Report Of The NKY Tourism Industry

Finally, the tourism industry has emerged from the dark days of COVID-19. Hotel occupancy has recovered to close to 2019 levels while revenues have surpassed those level due to inflationary pressures. Restaurants and bars have continued to thrive and our attractions are seeing record visitation. CVG International Airport is also reporting a close return to 2019 passenger levels. The industry is in the Winner’s Circle.

Our mission at meetNKY continues to ensure that we are working hard to promote the attributes we have in NKY and the Cincy Region to bring new visitors to our destination that leave behind a big economic impact and create a better quality of life for all who live here. We were proud to be a part of so many wins in 2022, including new events; a return of BLINK; a big, new, wonderful airline announcement at CVG; and so much more. We are thrilled at the success of our Cincy Region collaboration and the impact it is having as people look at our region in a new way.

2023 will continue this momentum as we all work to share in this story that NKY is on a roll. As we celebrate the industry at the new and reimagined Turfway Park, we are also looking forward to a strong year in this region. We will begin to take an active role in developing this destination following the outline of our 2022 Tourism Master Plan. We will focus on destination wayfinding, public art and major research projects on the Northern Kentucky Convention Center and amateur sports facilities in our area, as well as forming a strong marketing plan to promote our outdoors attributes in the three counties and 30+ cities. We will continue to market the destination for group escorted tour visits to our key demand-drivers, open up new international markets and bring in new conventions and events to our convention center.

The future is bright in the top of the Commonwealth and the hard work is done by all the winners in this circle. You all have our thanks, every day!

Thanks,

Julie Kirkpatrick, CTA, CDME President & CEO

See last year's 2021 Annual Report.