AirBnB Calls Louisville Top U.S. Tourist Destination for 2023
People are booking summer vacation plans, and AirBnB has reported that Louisville is the top trending option potential travelers are looking at, according to Travel and Leisure. Heck, most of us here have seen this coming for a while now.
I worked in a bourbon tasting bar and bottle shop for three years in NuLu (check out Taste Fine Wines & Bourbon, I still pick up a shift occasionally), and I am telling you that about 75% of the people I interacted with were specific bourbon tourists, there to visit distilleries, go to bourbon bars and search for bottles they can’t find elsewhere. Bourbon drives business here. And the culinary scene is damn fine as well.
One of my favorite anecdotes on this topic dates to about 2015. I had submitted my manuscript for 100 Things to Do in Louisville Before You Die to my publisher, Reedy Press. The copy editor made a note in the manuscript that, “It seemed like every other chapter had people sipping on cocktails or going to happy hour. To me, Louisville sounds like a bunch of drunks.” I told my production editor, “She clearly has never been to Louisville.” My editor said, “Nope. She hasn’t.”
Anyway, while that stuck in my craw a little, the book was published, and I took a copy to the Louisville Visitor Center downtown to see if I could get a signing event booked. While waiting for the manager, I saw a couple step off a TARC bus and enter the place. I backed up and told them they could go ahead of me, as I was waiting for someone. The friendly greeter asked, “How can I help you?” The woman said, “We’re from South Africa.” “Oh! Welcome to Louisville!” replied the Welcome Center greeter. And then the woman said, excitedly, “We’re here to taste bourbon!”
Tourism Economics, an advisory firm, did a study that estimates Louisville might see an economic impact of more than $800 million in 2023. That’s not chicken feed. Better yet, that’s coming off our tax bills.
Per Travel and Leisure, the No. 1 trending destination in the U.S. on AirBnB, based on 2023 first-quarter searches, is Louisville. Sure, the Derby figured into that, but bourbon tourism is backing down to no one.
The rest of the list — not surprisngly — sees Lexington land at third. Laconia, New Hampshire, came in at No. 2, followed by Lexington, Pittsburgh and Panama City. Milwaukee, Surf City, New Jersey, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, Kansas City and North Topsail Beach, North Carolina rounded out the top 10.
So, get ready, bartenders. It’s going to be a long — and presumably, lucrative — summer.
