By 1808Delaware
Central Ohio entered 2025 with a spectacle and never really slowed down.
A year that opened with outdoor hockey at Ohio Stadium and packed convention halls downtown ended with stronger hotel numbers, nearly $60 million in bed tax collections and hundreds of future events already on the books. According to the newly released year-end report from Experience Columbus and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, the region’s visitor economy posted solid year-over-year growth across nearly every key metric. For a city that has been steadily redefining its national profile, 2025 felt less like a breakout year and more like confirmation.
A Winter Weekend That Set the Tone
The year began with the NHL Stadium Series, featuring the Columbus Blue Jackets at Ohio State Buckeyes football’s home field, Ohio Stadium. It was the first time the venue hosted an NHL game.
Timed alongside the Arnold Sports Festival, the weekend delivered nearly $40 million in direct visitor spending and produced the second-most attended hockey game in NHL history. Hotels filled. Restaurants overflowed. The national spotlight landed squarely on Columbus. It was a vivid illustration of what happens when marquee sports and signature events align.
Marketing Muscle Meets National Accolades
Leisure travel continued to climb in the second year of the “Yes, Columbus” campaign. In 2025 alone, the campaign generated more than 319 million impressions and drove a 47 percent arrival lift among those exposed to advertising, according to Arrivalist data cited in the report. National recognition helped amplify that message. Food & Wine named Columbus one of America’s Next Great Food Cities. Condé Nast Traveler readers ranked the city among the top 10 best big cities in the U.S., as well as one of the friendliest and one of the top food cities in the country.
Those accolades matter. They validate what locals already know and give first-time visitors a reason to book the trip.
Experience Columbus President and CEO Brian Ross noted that the organization will celebrate its 85th anniversary in 2026. The opening of a new Columbus Welcome Center, he said, marks a new chapter for both visitors and residents.
Conventions and Big Rooms Filled
From Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025, Columbus hosted 349 conventions, trade shows and sporting events. Highlights included the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, which brought students from 60 countries and more than $8 million in awards and scholarships. The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention drew roughly 6,000 attendees and made national headlines with the election of its first female national leader. The National Association for College Admission Counseling conference delivered $8.6 million in direct visitor spending and nearly 16,000 room nights.
Behind those headlines is a simple economic truth. Large gatherings move the needle. They fill hotel blocks, create weekday demand and push spending into restaurants, retail and transportation.
The Hotel Numbers Tell the Story
According to STR data covering Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025, all key performance indicators rose year over year.
- Occupancy reached 64.3 percent, up 2.1 percent and ahead of the 61.3 percent competitive set average.
- Average Daily Rate climbed to $126.31, a 3.4 percent increase, though still below the competitive set average of $135.50.
- Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, rose 5.5 percent to $81.18, just shy of the competitive set’s $83.20.
In plain terms, more rooms were filled, rates improved and revenue strengthened.
Bed tax collections totaled $59,966,975 for the year, up 1 percent over 2024, according to the Office of Megan Kilgore, Columbus City Auditor. That figure reflects the steady, durable growth of the region’s travel base.
Looking Ahead: Betting on Women’s Sports
If 2025 was about execution, the next phase is about ambition. Mayor Andrew Ginther, alongside First Lady Shannon Ginther, announced a partnership with the Greater Columbus Sports Commission to position Columbus as the Nation’s Capital for Women’s Sports. Branding and pillars for the initiative are expected in spring 2026.
The timing is not accidental. Columbus will host the 2027 NCAA Women’s Final Four and the Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. Those events alone signal a strategic play to dominate a fast-growing sector of the sports economy. The Sports Commission reports more than 100 events hosted in 2025, including 61 new events, and more than 100 future bookings secured. In total, 460 conventions, meetings, trade shows and sporting events are now booked for future years, representing more than 261,000 room nights. That is pipeline. And pipeline is what sustains momentum when the spotlight moves on.
A Regional Engine
For Central Ohio, including The North Growth Corridor, the visitor industry is not window dressing. It is infrastructure. It is tax revenue that supports services. It is jobs in hospitality, marketing, event production and transportation. It is national visibility that influences corporate site selectors and prospective residents.
Columbus has spent years building toward this moment. In 2025, the numbers suggest it delivered. Now the real question is not whether the city can host major events. It is whether it can convert this momentum into durable, long-term brand equity. If the early bookings and women’s sports strategy are any indication, Columbus intends to try.
Source: Experience Columbus; Photo: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
