Visit Fort Worth celebrates tourism’s impact. Here’s how much visitors bring to the city
February 15,2025
See full MSN article by Harrison Mantas here.
Fort Worth’s tourism economy has doubled over the past decade.
The city saw 11.5 million visitors in 2024, generating $3.5 billion in economic impact while supporting 30,000 jobs, according to data from Visit Fort Worth unveiled during its Feb. 14 annual meeting.
The number of visitors, jobs and economic impact has doubled over the past decade, said Visit Fort Worth CEO Bob Jameson.
The city’s museums and performing arts are known around the world, and the 2025 Cliburn piano competition from May 21-June 7 is expected to attract 25 views on the event’s live stream, Jameson said.
Tourism and the marketing are bringing new people and businesses to the city, Mayor Mattie Parker said at the event.
She recounted meeting a downtown Fort Worth ambassador who had recently moved to the city from Australia after his wife got a job at Alcon.
“He had only been in our city for a short six months, and very quickly he realized he wanted to be on team Fort Worth,” Parker said, adding the man’s story was emblematic of the city’s generous and welcoming community.
People love Fort Worth, because it’s authentic, said Pam Minick, president of Friends of the Fort Worth Herd, who was honored with this year’s Hospitality Award.
Visitors to the city stand up a little taller when they put on a cowboy hat and a pair of boots, Minick said, adding the city’s brand and its cowboy heritage are as recognizable as the Eiffel Tower.
Fort Worth is a place where if you dream it, the city will figure out how to support you, said film producer John Hermansen, whose production company 101 Studios worked on projects like Landman and 1883 in Fort Worth.
“This is my home, and my only regret is that I found it later in life,” Hermansen said.
The event concluded with a tribute to the “Spaceship” arena, which is slated for demolition as part of the Fort Worth convention center’s renovation project.
Voters approved a 2% hotel tax increase in May 2024, which is expected to fund the second phase of the renovation.
Visit Fort Worth plans to hold its 2026 annual meeting in the old arena before that section of convention center gets renovated.
Construction on phase two is expected to start toward the end of 2026.
Location Mentioned: Fort Worth Convention Center Expansion