Visitor spending in Virginia Beach sets new record in 2013.

Virginia Beach saw its best year for visitor spending on record in 2013. The city said Wednesday that data released by the United States Travel Association shows spending reached a record high of $1.3 billion, a 1.9 percent increase from 2012.

The latest figures continue to position tourism as an important contributor to the city’s economy. Tourism-supported jobs totaled 12,257 while city and state tourism-related taxes derived from activity in Virginia Beach totaled $108 million.

The data is based on domestic visitor spending (travelers from within the U.S.) from trips taken 50 miles or more away from home.

Jim Ricketts, director of the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in a statement that the 2013 figures were a good result and one largely driven by new product development efforts.

“Expanding our efforts to bring in new tourism product continues to drive year-round overnight visitation growth and increased spending in our local economy,” said Ricketts.

According to U.S. Travel, tourism in Virginia generated $21.5 billion in travel spending in 2013 an increase of 1.4 percent from 2012. Tourism also supported 213,000 jobs in the commonwealth and provided $842 million in state taxes and $581 million in local taxes. Every region in Virginia posted an increase in tourism spending last year.