Doing Business in Nelson County: Travel Industry

Travel Industry

Nelson County is home to Wintergreen, a 4-season family resort. Wintergreen Resort has full conference and banquet facilities. Groups from 10 - 600 can meet comfortably in any of the 15 meeting rooms and executive board rooms. Approximately 550,000 people a year visit Wintergreen Resort, 30,000 tour Walton's Mountain Museum and approximately 35,000 attend events, tour wineries and other sites. In 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004 Nelson County was the host for DaimlerChrysler's owner loyalty event "Camp Jeep" which brought together Jeep owners from all across the US for a 3-day festival.

2006 Traveler Industry Statistics for Nelson County Virginia *

Traveler spending
$156 million

Payroll attributed to travel-related businesses
$28.5 million

Travel employment
1,666 people

Local Tax Receipts
$4.8 million

* data courtesy of Virginia Tourism Corporation

The visitors bureau staff has identified that the primary reason people want to visit Nelson County is for scenic beauty, love of nature, wineries and to enjoy outdoor recreation. Most tourism-related businesses state that their market comes from urban areas: Northern Virginia/DC, Richmond and Virginia Beach/Norfolk area as well as Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. Combining agricultural experiences with heritage preservation is a strong focus of the tourism product.