More than 54 million visitors came to Houston last year and spent nearly $11 billion in the city, setting both a new visitation record and a higher total economic impact count.

Breaking it down

According to an Aug. 5 report by the Houston First Corporation, the city's marketing and venue management organization, spending was up by 8.6% from 2023, while the total number of visitors was up 4.8%. Factoring in the secondary effect of that spending on the city's economy, the report states that the total economic impact reached $16.6 billion in 2024.

Last year also resulted in records in the hotel and air travel arenas, according to the report, with roughly 63 million people traveling through IAH or Hobby airports, an increase of nearly 5%. The number of hotels booked also increased in 2024, with 25 million booked in the city of Houston, up 8.2% from 2023.

More key statistics from the report include:
  • 52.6 million of visitors were domestic or from the U.S.
  • 1.3 million of visitors were international
  • $2.2 billion was generated in state and local taxes
  • 121,800 jobs were supported
“I’m proud of this new Houston visitor record, which speaks to all the amazing things people can see and do in our city,” Mayor John Whitmire said in the news release. “People come here to enjoy our hospitality, our parks, our entertainment venues, our sports, the Houston Zoo, NASA and so much more."


Taking a step back

Houston First officials knew back in February that Houston was poised to see record-breaking numbers from 2024, with officials noting that major conventions hosted in the city drew high attendance, including:“For years now, we have been laser-focused on crafting strategies directly aligned with our mission: generating business for Houston’s hospitality industry and contributing to the city’s broader economic growth,” said Michael Heckman, President and CEO of Houston First in the news release. “The data clearly validates those efforts and this year we’re aiming to continue building on that success.”