The Minneapolis skyline by Star Tribune photographer Glen Stubbe in 2017
The Minneapolis-area welcomed a record 34.5 million visitors in 2018, up 3.7 percent from 2017, according to tourism-research firm DK Shifflet and Meet Minneapolis, the not-for-profit association that markets the area as a destination for conventions and meetings.
Meet Minneapolis said visitors spent $8 billion, up 3.3 %.
"These serious increases in visitors and visitor spending in the Minneapolis region means we're moving in the right direction for achieving one of our goals: showing the rest of the world that Minneapolis is a world-class destination," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a prepared statement. "The tourism and hospitality industry accounts for close to 36,000 jobs in Minneapolis – the fourth largest driver of jobs in the city by industry – underscoring the role tourism plays in our economic success."
Meet Minneapolis pronounced 2018 "a healthy year for the tourism and hospitality industry," including January-February 2018 Super Bowl activities.
The visitor impact on hotels generated a 70.8% occupancy rate for the year, up from 68.5% in 2017.
Minneapolis has 40 hotels that each offer 50 rooms or more. In addition, the number of tourism and hospitality jobs enjoyed a 3% increase in 2018, up more than 1,100 jobs from the year prior.
"Whether it's a convention at the Minneapolis Convention Center that brings in thousands of attendees, or a marquee sporting event, our goal is to support the economic well-being of our workers and to show off all of our city's great assets and amenities." said Meet Minneapolis President and CEO Melvin Tennant.
