Indianapolis had a great year for tourism and is set to continue growing. Over 1,000 people attended the State of Tourism event at the Indiana Convention Center, hosted by Visit Indy. "2024 was the biggest year in Indy's tourism history. Period," said Morgan Snyder with Visit Indy during the event, as reported by FOX59. Clare Clark of Visit Indy echoed that enthusiasm, saying, "Today we celebrated the records that were shattered in 2024 but you’ll see momentum in 2025."
Indianapolis has already kicked off 2025 with a record attendance at WWE's Royal Rumble, where over 70,000 fans participated, WRTV reported. Reflecting on the importance of such events, Leonard Hoops, President & CEO of Visit Indy, told WRTV, "VisitIndy does not exist for visitors. We exist to improve the quality of life in Indianapolis through visitors." The 2025 calendar is filled with marquee events projected to attract more than 1.8 million guests, including the NFL Combine, March Madness, the Indianapolis 500, WNBA All-Star weekend, and the Big Ten football championship.
Web traffic for Visit Indy has spiked as well, surging to over 5.56 million user sessions last year, a notable increase from previous records. Leonard Hoops expressed that such attractions have put Indianapolis on a global radar and that doctors' conventions, traditionally unexpected, are now choosing the city for their gatherings, according to a statement obtained by WTHR.
The economic impact of this surge in tourism is significant, with the city witnessing an estimated $5.8 billion influx last year alone. Local businesses are benefiting greatly from the influx, with Brent Drescher, GM at The District Tap, stating to WRTV, "It was our biggest year ever. It's really cool to be able to display our restaurant to people all over the nation, and they take that little tidbit back home and talk about what a great restaurant we have and a great city." The Indiana Fever, honored at the tourism event with the 2025 Bill McGowan Leadership Award, serves as a testament to the city's growing stature in sports, especially in celebrating female athletes' accomplishments on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
As Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett projected, over $2.5 billion invested in tourism infrastructure upgrades, including the redevelopment of Pan Am Plaza and the expansion of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, aim to propel Indianapolis to new heights. "Our momentum as we step In 2025 is undeniable. With more than $2.5 billion invested in tourism infrastructure enhancements downtown, we have even more to look forward to. Projects like the redevelopment of Pan Am Plaza, the re-envisioning of Georgia Street, the Circle Centre [Mall] finally re-established, and the expansion of our Indianapolis cultural trail. All of these will help propel our city to even greater, higher heights. I can’t wait to see what our future holds here in the city of Indianapolis," Hogsett declared, capping the optimistic outlook for the year ahead as reported by FOX59.
