(The Center Square) – Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear launched a new strategy to promote the state earlier this week that ties tourism with business and worker attraction.
The initiative called New Kentucky Home was introduced by Beshear at Keeneland in Lexington, where economic development and tourism officials joined him for the announcement. A 40-second video promoting the strategy was released, and the state created a new website for the Cabinet for Economic Development incorporating that theme.
In a statement, Beshear said the strategy aims to reintroduce the state to a worldwide audience.
“Kentucky isn’t just a place; it’s full of communities where people support each other, where businesses thrive and where families create good, full lives,” he said. “Because here in Kentucky, business is fast, but the pace of life is just right – and that is something a lot of companies and families are looking for when choosing their new home.”
The New Kentucky Home campaign comes as the state has enjoyed both record tourism and unprecedented economic growth. Tourists and other visitors spent $9.7 billion across the commonwealth in 2023. In the past five years, coinciding with the start of Beshear’s first term as governor, the state has landed more than $33 billion in investments from businesses seeking to expand existing operations or build new facilities.
Those economic development projects are slated to create close to 56,000 jobs, many of which are high-paying. The 8,500 jobs created by projects announced in 2023 are expected to pay an average of $26.67 an hour before benefits. The Beshear Administration noted it was the first time the state’s average hourly wage for new jobs exceeded $26 in consecutive years.
Major employers investing in Kentucky include Ford and SK On, which are partnering on a $5.8 billion electric-vehicle battery plant in Glendale that’s expected to create 5,000 jobs. Last week, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that the Army awarded Repkon USA a $435 million contract to build a plant in Muhlenberg County that will be the first domestic supplier of TNT in roughly 40 years.
Mary Quinn Ramer, the president and CEO of Lexington’s convention and visitors’ bureau VisitLex, applauded the new program.
“The intersection of tourism and economic development is clear,” Ramer said. “Today’s traveler could be tomorrow’s talent, and we know that attracting that new talent to Kentucky is key to our future successes as a state.”
