Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau

What Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau does

Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, doing business as Louisville Tourism, is the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Louisville, Kentucky. It is a privately held non-profit entity headquartered at 401 West Main Street, with a downtown Visitor Center at 301 South 4th Street and a mobile welcome center at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The organization markets and sells Louisville as a premier destination for conventions, trade shows, corporate meetings, group tours, and individual leisure travel, anchored on three flagship pillars: the Bourbon City bourbon tourism narrative, the Kentucky Derby and horse racing heritage, and a broader culinary, arts, and music cultural positioning.

The core product portfolio is built around the GoToLouisville.com website, which functions as the official digital travel resource with real-time hotel and attraction booking, an event calendar, neighborhood guides, and visitor guide requests. Supporting products include the 78 Social members-only diplomat society program, a digital and print Official Visitor Guide, dedicated meeting and convention planning services with RFP submission and housing coordination, sports event hosting services, wedding planning resources, and group tour familiarization programs. The organization also produces a Bourbon City Blog and operates a multi-platform social presence across Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, supplemented by email newsletters and signature events such as the third annual Sensory Soirée.

Revenue is generated primarily through tourism-related tax receipts (notably hotel occupancy taxes) that fund destination marketing activities, with secondary recurring revenue from the 78 Social membership program (individual tiers at $30–$50 annually and organizational tiers from $250 to $1,000). The GTM motion combines event-driven marketing (signature activations in drive markets) with direct-to-consumer digital acquisition through the website and a toll-free 1.888.LOUISVILLE call center. The bureau is accredited by Destinations International and reports economic impact of more than $4.4 billion, 19 million visitors at the 2019 pre-pandemic peak, and support for more than 70,000 tourism-related jobs in the Louisville area.

Name

Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau

Legal name

Louisville Tourism

Website

https://gotolouisville.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1778

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau (Louisville Tourism) is the official non-profit destination marketing organization for Louisville, Kentucky, promoting the city to leisure travelers and convention planners via GoToLouisville.com, visitor centers, and the 78 Social membership program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing Organization Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Tour Operators (56152)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Festival & Event Producers/Organizers (MPAIAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD), Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed) (THAJAFAI)

Keywords

• Destination marketing services
• Convention and meeting planning
• Visitor information services
• Leisure travel promotion
• Hospitality marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tourism Tax Revenue: As the official destination marketing organization for Louisville, the agency generates revenue through tourism-related tax receipts, including hotel occupancy taxes and other visitor-generated municipal revenues that fund destination marketing activities.
2. 78 Social Membership Program: Annual membership program offering individual ($30-$50) and organizational ($250-$1,000) membership tiers with benefits including exclusive access to attractions, bourbon tastings, networking events, professional development workshops, and roundtable discussions with Louisville Tourism executives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau (operating as Louisville Tourism) is the official destination marketing organization for Louisville, Kentucky. It promotes the city as a premier travel and convention destination through the GoToLouisville.com website, visitor guides, convention sales services, membership programs (78 Social), physical visitor centers, and signature events. The organization markets Louisville's bourbon experiences, Kentucky Derby heritage, culinary scene, and convention facilities to leisure travelers, meeting planners, group tour operators, and event organizers.

Product overview

Louisville Tourism operates as the official destination marketing organization for Louisville, Kentucky, offering a unified portfolio of digital and physical products centered around the GoToLouisville.com platform. The core offering includes the official travel website with booking capabilities, the 78 Social diplomat society program, and the comprehensive Official Visitor Guide (available in digital and physical formats). Supporting products include Convention & Event Alerts for meeting planners, Bourbon City Experiences showcasing local distilleries and bourbon trails, Meeting & Event Planning Services with venue coordination and housing services, Group Tour & Travel Trade Resources for tour operators and travel advisors, Louisville Visitor Center locations for in-person assistance, signature Louisville Tourism Events including the Annual Gala, Sports Events Services, Wedding Services, and Destination Engagement Opportunities for advertising and sponsorship. The portfolio functions as a destination marketing ecosystem designed to attract visitors, support event planners, and drive economic impact through tourism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 78 Social: Louisville's premiere members-only diplomat society - where the city's most essential advocates gather, grow, engage, and build energy behind Louisville. A program designed for hospitality and tourism industry ambassadors.

Products and services

• GoToLouisville.com

Quantifiable outcome

• 19 million visitors hosted in 2019
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EBONY MagazinecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 March 2026EBONY magazine partners with Louisville Tourism for the third annual Sensory Soirée event scheduled for April 11, 2026, in Brooklyn, NY. The partnership showcases Louisville's culture, arts, and bourbon traditions to New Yorkers through live music, bourbon tastings, and interactive experiences. EBONY is a Black-owned media company.
• Angel's EnvyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 March 2026Angel's Envy serves as a bourbon partner for the Sensory Soirée event, providing bourbon tastings as part of the promotional activities showcasing Louisville's bourbon heritage.
• Frazier History MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Frazier History Museum serves as the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and hosts The Spirit of Kentucky exhibit. The museum documents and reinterprets stories from history using artifacts and live interpretations, partnering with Louisville Tourism to promote bourbon tourism.
• Kentucky Derby MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kentucky Derby Museum partners with Louisville Tourism to offer signature experiences including the Thoroughbred Workout Tour and Barn & Backside Tour, showcasing Churchill Downs and the horse racing heritage.
• Speed Art MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKentucky's oldest and largest art museum partners with Louisville Tourism to promote cultural tourism. The Speed Art Museum hosts major exhibitions and is recognized by Travel + Leisure Magazine as one of 'The World's Most Beautiful New Museums'.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Visit Denver: Denver's official destination marketing organization and CVB, with a comparable mandate, tax-funded structure, and portfolio of convention sales, leisure marketing, and visitor services. Operates at a similar scale to Louisville Tourism and competes for the same pool of mid-large US city convention business.
• Visit Nashville: Nashville's official DMO and CVB with destination marketing, convention sales, and signature city-brand positioning (Music City). Comparable to Louisville Tourism in mandate, scale, and reliance on a distinctive cultural identity to drive visitation.
• Visit Indy: Indianapolis's official DMO providing destination marketing, convention sales, and visitor services for a Midwestern metro of similar size and profile. Operates with a comparable non-profit DMO structure and tax-funded budget model.
• Visit Charlotte: Charlotte's official DMO with destination marketing, convention sales, and visitor services. Comparable to Louisville Tourism in mandate, scale, tax-based funding model, and competition for the same convention and leisure travel segments in the Southeast.
• Visit San Antonio: San Antonio's official CVB with destination marketing and convention sales functions for a similarly-sized southern US city. Directly comparable to Louisville Tourism in DMO structure, tourism-tax funding, and product portfolio (leisure + conventions + cultural tourism).
• Visit Seattle: Seattle's official DMO with destination marketing, convention sales, and visitor services. Comparable in mandate, structure, and offerings to Louisville Tourism, though serving a larger West Coast metro market.
• Choose Chicago: Chicago's official DMO with destination marketing and convention sales functions. Operates at larger scale than Louisville Tourism but is directly comparable in mandate, product portfolio, and reliance on signature brand identity to drive visitation.
• Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau: Boston's official CVB and DMO providing destination marketing, convention sales, and visitor services. Comparable to Louisville Tourism in mandate and offerings, though serving a much larger metro market with a significantly higher operating budget.

Regional players

• Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau: Cincinnati's official DMO operating in the same regional Midwest/South-Ohio market as Louisville Tourism. Comparable in structure, mandate, and tourism focus (riverfront, bourbon-adjacent heritage, sports), but serves the Cincinnati metro area and competes with Louisville for regional convention and leisure travel.

Broad incumbents

• Brand USA: The national public-private partnership and DMO for the United States. Comparable in function (destination marketing) but operates at a national level rather than city-level, working with CVBs like Louisville Tourism as partner organizations to drive international inbound visitation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gotolouisville
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/gotolouisville
• Facebookfacebook.com/gotolouisville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/503673
• Instagraminstagram.com/gotolouisville
• TikToktiktok.com/@gotolouisville
• Pinterestpinterest.com/gotolouisville

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau