Lauderdale County tourism sees growth as state pushes for standalone agency

Published 5:33 am Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Lauderdale County and the Queen City are seeing more people coming for a visit, according to new numbers from the county’s tourism arm.

On Monday, Visit Meridian Executive Director Laura Carmichael told the Council of Governments data for 2024 recently became available, and the area saw more than $453 million in tourism spending that year. Of that, $299 million was in direct spending while $154 million was in indirect spending in Lauderdale County.

The spending shows an increase of approximately 7-8% over the previous year, Carmichael said.

“When we talk about money that’s being spent, it’s the hotel, it’s the eating, the retail, purchasing gas, all that equates to supporting tourism,” she said. “So we were really happy with those numbers. They continue to go up.”

Data from the Mississippi Tourism Association for 2024 show tourism in Lauderdale County supports more than 3,500 jobs and generates more than $109 million in income for local residents. The industry also produces an estimated $25.3 million in state and local taxes.

“Tourism is one of the strongest drivers of economic growth in Meridian and Lauderdale County. Every visitor who shops, dines, attends an event, or stays in our hotels contributes directly to the vitality of our local economy — supporting small businesses, creating jobs, and fueling opportunities for our community to thrive,” Carmichael said. “We’re proud of the impact tourism has in our community, and we’re excited about the continued growth ahead.”

The fresh data comes as Lauderdale County Tourism is gearing up for a busy 2026. The county agency recently joined Visit Mississippi in participating in the Rose Parade in California and is working hard to prepare for Wings over Meridian in March, when the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight squadron performs at Naval Air Station Meridian.

“We’re also working on the conferences. We are working with different groups for the America 250 events. That’s a big push for this year, and then the city of Meridian is doing great July 4th prep, some plans for that,” Carmichael said.

“We’ve got a lot of fun things coming up,” she said.

At the state level, tourism advocates are again pushing the State Legislature to make Visit Mississippi its own state organization. Currently, the state tourism arm falls under the Mississippi Development Authority.

Efforts to separate tourism into its own entity were made in the 2025 Legislative Session but failed to make it through the political gauntlet of the state capitol. Carmichael said the Mississippi Tourism Association announced in a meeting Monday morning that it will try again to get the legislation passed this year.

According to MTA, tourism is the fourth largest industry in Mississippi with 44.2 million visitors traveling to the Magnolia State each year. Tourism supports more than 136,000 jobs and has an impact of $18.1 billion in economic impact throughout the state. The industry also generates approximately $1.1 billion for the state’s general fund.