Madison County Touts Economic Impact of Tourism

MADISON - Tourism numbers are up almost across the board in Madison County. Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau executive director Traci Jeffrey presented the bureau’s economic impact study to the Madison County Commissioners on Tuesday. Jeffrey said the region’s efforts at drawing more people to events are paying off. “We continue to grow in Madison County for our visitors, whether it’s sporting events, extracurricular activities or concerts,” Jeffrey said. The report says that visitors to the county spent $40.5 million in 2016, which is up three percent over the previous year. Jeffrey says that amount of income is enough to sustain over 800 jobs in the county. “Let’s take a sporting event,” Jeffrey said. “Kids come to play the sport. But they bring with them the parents and the grandparents. Bringing that money into our community turns around to help grow the community.” The report says more events means more people sticking around, as local hotel room rates have gone up 4.7% over the previous year.