HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) – The Friendly City remained an attractive destination for travelers last year, and the local economy benefited because of it.

Tourists contributed more than $243 million to Harrisonburg’s local economy in 2024, according to an annual report from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), an increase over 2023. Tourism supported 2,677 jobs in the city, and tourism-related local taxes collected topped $13 million.

“We worked on some new initiatives in 2024 to draw tourists to the area, and we received recognition for our promotion of Harrisonburg as the ‘Basecamp for Outdoor Recreation’ in the region,” Harrisonburg Tourism Manager Jennifer Bell said. “For those across the East Coast looking to visit the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, Harrisonburg is the perfect place to stay, eat and play.”

Harrisonburg Tourism won two awards in 2024 for the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Trail Guide: the Trailblazer Award from VTC for outstanding work and dedication to innovative tourism marketing and the VIRGO Award from Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations.

Harrisonburg Tourism also launched the Harrisonburg Coffee Trail featuring 11 local, independent coffee shops and worked with the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition to improve and expand the Rocktown Trails. Harrisonburg Tourism also was awarded grants valued at about $40,000. Meanwhile, the Hardesty-Higgins Visitor Center saw more than 40,000 visitors and the Valley Mall Visitor Center saw more than 16,500 people.

“As well as 2024 went, we’re already excited about all we’ve been able to do so far in 2025,” Bell said. “We continue to add new initiative to attract tourists, and have just launched House Tours of the historic Hardesty-Higgins House which are given Friday and Mondays, free to attract more visitors.”