NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tourists are coming to Tennessee in record numbers. They spent a record $17 billion dollars in 2014.
A growing part of the tourism money is coming from international travelers.
The US Travel Association reports international travel in Nashville and the state is up nearly 8.5 percent from the year before.
Most international tourists are coming from Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.
On Tuesday, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced great news for Tennessee from the historic Ryman Auditorium.
“The message is Tennessee is increasingly becoming an international tourist destination and all of us are benefitting from that,” said Haslam.
Country music it's still and probably always will be the big draw in Nashville. Nearly a third of the state's tourism money was spent in Music City last year.
Many tourist spend their money at the city's hot spots.
“We're staying toward Opryland, and we're going to the Grand Ole Opry tonight. We went to the Ryman Auditorium this morning and now we're headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame,” said Nathan Poche from Louisiana.
Tennessee is now in the top ten tourist destinations in the country.
