As an arm of Christian County tourism, Visit Hopkinsville officials have wrapped 2025, following a year of record tourism growth, international engagement and niche events that brought global attention to the area.
Executive Director Amy Rogers said the season was about “building connections and momentum,” while 2026 will focus on showcasing the city’s hospitality, innovation, and unique identity to a statewide and national audience.
Highlights from the year included a spring visit from Hopkinsville’s sister city, Carentan-les-Marais, France, strengthening international ties, and the community also celebrated Alien Invasion Day in August — marking the famous 1955 Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter — and hosted a highly successful GoblinCon in October, drawing more than 800 visitors from across the U.S. and abroad.
In 2026, Hopkinsville will host two major statewide conferences next spring, including the Kentucky Association for Economic Development conference in April and the Kentucky Travel Industry Association Spring Conference in May.
Hosting KTIA, Rogers noted, is a major opportunity to showcase Hopkinsville as a model destination to industry leaders from across the Commonwealth.
The paranormal will also return in a big way with the GoblinCon UFO and Paranormal Expo scheduled for August 22–23, following the success of its inaugural year.
The strong local year followed a historic milestone for Kentucky tourism overall, which reached its highest economic impact ever and supported more than 95,000 jobs statewide.
