WV Tourism

Josh and I drafted our first blog post without introducing ourselves.  This post is my introduction.  I am the broker-in-charge at L&L Property Management.  I became deeply interested in starting this venture after moving to Charleston in 2022.  I fell in love with the community, the culture, and the geography. I do not have to tell West Virginians that you live in the most beautiful state in the nation.  I moved to West Virginia because I believe in the future of the State, so much so that, before I moved to Charleston, I became fascinated by the Mountain State’s history, present, and potential.  The rest of this post is about the latter two regarding the tourism industry and its potential effect on our business.

West Virginia’s tourism industry is blossoming.  According to a recent MetroNews article, citing numbers the Office of the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Tourism, 75 million people visited West Virginia in 2023. Those 75 million people spent approximately $6.3 billion, a 5.6% increase from 2022.  The overall economic impact of the industry in 2023 was a whopping $9 billion.  These statistics, coupled with the Governor’s recent “Tourism Works” campaign which estimates an additional 21,000 job openings in the tourism industry projected annually, bode incredibly well for the future of the Mountain State.

It goes without saying: When tourism grows, so does demand for real estate and property management.  In the medium-run, we hope to further intertwine our company with the tourism industry and all of the positives it has brought to WV. While we currently focus on management for single and multi-family properties, we see high potential in the real estate market associated with long-term rentals, short-term rentals, and vacation homes. These are all areas we hope to invest in to further the future of Charleston and West Virginia more broadly.