Plan to Grow Tourism in Louisville Unveiled

The Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau gathered hospitality officials, business leaders and mayoral candidates to hear details of a newly released Destination Development Plan today at the Kentucky International Convention Center. 

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To guarantee that Louisville remains competitive among cities fighting for travelers and meeting business, the Plan lists key findings that are needed to ensure that Louisville is poised for future growth. Some of the key findings are:

• The need for improved transportation infrastructure to accommodate visitor transportation needs.
• The need to enhance and increase downtown retail and housing as an instrumental element of continuing Louisville as a top tier destination.
• The importance of a new headquarter hotel with 600-1000 rooms built at the main gate of the Kentucky Exposition Center.
• Vital enhancements to the Kentucky International Convention Center.
• The opportunity to increase leisure travel to Louisville by enhancing existing outdoor amenities including the Jefferson Memorial Forest, Floyds Fork and the Riverfront.

The report also touched on the importance of planned investment projects including Museum Plaza, Iron Quarter and the City Center developments.

Mayor Jerry Abramson welcomed the crowd by complimenting the members of the hospitality industry in Louisville for their role in generating $1.7 billion in economic impact for the city through tourism. “Competition is not standing still,” Abramson said. “This Plan is a game plan for the future to keep Louisville competitive with other cities. It won’t happen overnight, but requires a long-term commitment that will keep Louisville vibrant and out front of its competition.”

“If Louisville is going to meet and exceed the expectations of its brand as Possibility City, we must meet the demand for investment in these and other transformative initiatives” said Jim Wood, president & CEO of the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Louisville Destination Development Plan was compiled by Convention Sports & Leisure International of Minnesota for the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau. With the main focus of reviewing Louisville as a destination, six months were dedicated to research on current and future infrastructure and interviews with key hospitality, business and civic leaders. The cost of the study was $110,000.

For a complete Executive Summary of the report click here.