Research

2011

Visitation

• Metro Atlanta Total: In 2011, an estimated 39.7 million US residents visited the Atlanta area. This amount equaled a 6% increase in domestic visitors over 2010.
   
• Overnight: Of the estimated 39.7 million domestic visitors to Atlanta, approximately 21 million stayed overnight. This represents more than a 7% increase in overnight visitation from 2010.
   
• Business & Leisure: Approximately 28 million domestic visitors came to Atlanta primarily for leisure purposes. Nearly 12 million visitors came primarily for business purposes. These amounts reflect year-over-year increases of more than 7% and nearly 3% respectively.
   
• Party Size & Length of Stay: The average size of visiting parties in 2011 was 1.9 people and the average length of stay was 2.4 days. These amounts did not reflect dramatic changes over 2010.

Source: Estimates based on research from D.K. Shifflet and Associates, Ltd., 2012

• Overseas: In 2010, an estimated 712,000 visitors came to Atlanta from countries outside of North America. This amount equaled an increase of 25% over 2009 which exceeds the US total of 11%.
  Source: Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, US Department of Commerce, 2011
   

Spending by Visitors

• Atlanta Total: In 2011, domestic visitors to Metro Atlanta spent roughly $12 billion on their travel. This equaled an increase of over $700 million (6%) from 2010.
• Overnight: Of the $12 billion of visitor spending, the majority, $10 billion, was from overnight travelers.
• Leisure & Business: $6.4 billion was spent by leisure travelers (9% more than 2010). $5.2 billion was spent by business travelers (4% more than 2010).
  Source: Estimates based on research from D.K. Shifflet and Associates, Ltd., 2012