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.
