Visit Louisville
Louisville, KY, US
Destination profile
About Louisville
Louisville Tourism is the official destination marketing organization for Louisville, Kentucky: a walkable river city of bourbon distilleries, renowned chefs, legendary sports attractions and a LEED Silver convention center in the heart of downtown.
Louisville Tourism — formerly the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau — is the official destination marketing organization for Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky. Its meetings team supports planners from first inquiry through post-event, working alongside the Kentucky International Convention Center, the Kentucky Exposition Center and more than 200 partner hotels.
Louisville sits on the Ohio River at the falls of the Ohio, with two downtown entertainment districts, a waterfront park and a compact, walkable convention core holding roughly 6,900 hotel rooms and 120 restaurants. The city is the global home of bourbon: more than a dozen distilleries, tasting rooms and bourbon bars sit within blocks of the convention center along historic Whiskey Row.
Iconic attractions anchor every itinerary — Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum, the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, the Muhammad Ali Center, the Belle of Louisville paddlewheeler and the Big Four Bridge pedestrian crossing to Indiana. Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) is about 7 miles from downtown, and I-65, I-64 and I-71 converge at the city center, putting more than half of the U.S. population within a day's drive.
City-wide profile
Why meet in Louisville
Capacity, access and planner support for Louisville, at a glance.
Top reasons to visit
Why planners choose Louisville
- Bourbon City: a dozen-plus urban distilleries, tasting rooms and bourbon bars within blocks of the convention center
- A walkable downtown convention core with 6,000+ hotel rooms, 120 restaurants and two entertainment districts
- Kentucky International Convention Center: 200,125 sq ft of contiguous Class A exhibit space and a 40,000 sq ft column-free ballroom, LEED Silver
- Iconic attractions minutes away — Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Muhammad Ali Center and the Big Four Bridge
Inventory & capacity
Access & district
- Airport proximity
- Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF) is about 7 miles / 10–15 minutes from downtown, with close to 100 daily departures and service from all major carriers.
- Air lift access
- SDF offers close to 100 daily departures with all major carriers and nonstop service across the U.S.; international arrivals connect through hub airports. Half the U.S. population is within a day's drive via I-65, I-64 and I-71.
- District transit & walkability
- Compact downtown grid: 6,889 hotel rooms and 120 restaurants within walking distance of KICC, with 4th Street Live and Whiskey Row steps away. The Big Four Bridge gives a car-free pedestrian crossing to Indiana; TARC runs the local bus network.
Operations & incentives
- Labor & vendor status
- Kentucky is a right-to-work state. KICC provides exclusive in-house catering — no outside food and beverage — together with in-house AV/production and venue security; stagehand, rigging and utility labor is booked through the venue's approved contractor list. KEC operates the same model on its 400-acre campus.
- Local taxes & fees
- Louisville / Jefferson County: 8.5% transient room tax plus 6% Kentucky sales and use tax, for 14.5% on standard hotel rooms. Hotels with 51 rooms or more also charge the 1.5% Greater Louisville Lodging Management District (GLLMD) tax on gross short-term rental revenue (in force since 1 Oct 2023), taking the total on those rooms to about 16%.
- Planner incentives & subvention
- Louisville Tourism supports bids with RFP assistance, complimentary site inspections and familiarization visits, housing and room-block management, registration and welcome-desk staffing, attendance-promotion toolkits and partner venue matchmaking. No published per-room rebate — subvention is negotiated case by case with the bureau and hotel partners.
Kentucky Exposition Center
Louisville, KY, US
Room for the biggest shows in the country
Kentucky International Convention Center
Louisville, KY, US
Inspired by unconventional thinking
Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) is about 7 miles — roughly 10 to 15 minutes — from downtown, with close to 100 daily departures and service from all major carriers. By road, I-65 runs through downtown and connects with I-64, I-71 and I-264; more than half of the U.S. population is within a day's drive. Amtrak and Greyhound serve the city center, and TARC operates local bus routes across downtown.
Parking
Downtown parking is supplied by public garages and surface lots plus hotel valet, including the KICC Cowger Garage at Fourth and Market and the Commonwealth Garage on Jefferson Street between Third and Fourth (about 1,300 enclosed spaces combined). Motorcoach drop-off and staging are available at the convention center, and the Kentucky Exposition Center offers 22,900 on-site spaces at roughly $12 per day for events.