How many people visited downtown in 2023? AI tallies any place, any time | Know Your Knox
It's Visit Knoxville's job to market the Scruffy City as a place worth traveling to. And in recent years, a thriving downtown was part of the formula that earned Knoxville a spot on national lists of must-see destinations.
Many of us see downtown every day and, perhaps, take it for granted. But thanks to artificial intelligence, Visit Knoxville now has the ability to track how many people are visiting downtown with fresh eyes from outside city limits, outside the state and beyond.
Just how many people visited downtown in 2023? A whopping 1.8 million visitors, accounting for 4.9 million visits. The difference between visitors and visits is similar to an internet user who visits the same website multiple times.
Artificial intelligence gathers data from people visiting Knoxville
The data is gathered through a third-party resource called Placer.ai, which uses machine learning and data science to generate analytics. The program is able to identify and exclude residents and employees within a given area − people who walk the streets daily − as well as vehicle traffic to give a more accurate depiction of visitors.
"Foot traffic data, also known as footfall or location data, analyzes the movement of people from place to place," according to Placer.ai. "This data is usually derived from actual counting, the use of cameras, in-store sensors, visitor interviews or data sent from mobile devices."
The general numbers included in this story account for all visitors, from out-of-state travelers to West Knoxville residents coming downtown for a show. Visit Knoxville has tools to identify and filter specific demographics when needed and can look anywhere in Knox County − areas as large as downtown or as small as the neighborhoods and streets within it.
Here's how many visitors explored downtown's major areas in 2023:
Market Square: Roughly 893,000 visitors, 1.6 million visits
Gay Street: Roughly 1.1 million visitors, 3.1 million visits
Old City: Roughly 555,000 visitors, 1.7 million visits
In November, Knox News reported on the city's experiment to shut down the 400 block of Gay Street to vehicles. Using the data provided by Visit Knoxville, we were able to compare Market Square to the 400-700 blocks of Gay Street.
This is part of the reason Visit Knoxville President Kim Bumpas wanted to acquire the data − to help people within Knoxville tell their stories.
"We didn't just develop this (Placer.ai) partnership for Visit Knoxville. We developed this partnership for everyone," Bumpas told Knox News. "Mostly, it's to look at festivals in an apples-to-apples comparison to grid-out footprints of different events to measure how many people are attending ... so that they are talking about their value in a real way."
New Knoxville data has an array of real-life applications
Whereas festivals might be using the "clicker method" and double counting visitors, Bumpas said, Placer.ai can get a more accurate depiction. It also allows festivals and other events to see how many people are visiting from out of town, which can help in requesting grants and sponsorships.
Whether it's pitching Knoxville as a destination for a conference, determining hotel rates based on visitation or creating a Visit Knoxville marketing plan targeted at people more likely to visit here, the options seem endless to Bumpas.
"This data really changes a lot of conversations," she said.
Knoxpedia: Your guide to exploring everything downtown Knoxville has to offer
How accurate is this Knoxville data, and what is it compared to?
To test the accuracy of the data, Visit Knoxville compared it to numbers they already had, like visits to the Sunsphere. The results were fairly close, she said, with a 5-10% margin of error.
Though the program was just acquired in August, the company grandfathered in data starting in January. In 2024, Visit Knoxville can start comparing current numbers to the previous year.
The resource also allows Visit Knoxville to compare its data with other cities using Placer.ai, Bumpas said.
"The downtown of any destination, it should be your hub," she said. "I feel excited by the numbers."
Know Your Knox answers your burning questions about life in Knoxville. Want your question answered? Email knowyourknox@knoxnews.com.
Ryan Wilusz is a downtown growth and development reporter. Phone 865-317-5138. Email ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com. Instagram @knoxscruff.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Downtown Knoxville was a popular Tennessee destination in 2023
