More than $36.7 billion was spent on tourism in NC in 2024, a record, and up from $35.6 billion in 2023, according to a press release issued by Gov. Josh Stein this week, which is also being recognized as National Travel and Tourism Week.
Despite severe destruction in the western mountain of North Carolina following Hurricane Helene, Biltmore Estates in Asheville is welcoming visitors for another year of its Christmas at Biltmore program.
Autumn is usually the peak season for tourism in most of western North Carolina. Many enjoy “leaf peeping,” taking in the beautiful fall foliage along the mountains. However, the tourism industry in that part of the state was dealt a major blow from the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene.
As the fifth most visited state in the nation, travel spending within North Carolina’s tourism industry reached a record-breaking $36 million in 2023 as the state welcomed roughly 43 million visitors. The tourism industry generates nearly $2.6 billion in state and local tax revenues.
North Carolina was the fifth most visited state for tourism in 2023, up from sixth place in 2022. That’s according to research commissioned by Visit North Carolina, part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and conducted by Tourism Economics.
While millions of Americans plan to hit the road or fly for a summer getaway this year, many will go into debt as a result, while others won’t be going away at all, thanks to ever-present inflation.
Four groups tied to North Carolina’s travel and tourism industry are speaking out as the N.C. Court of Appeals tackles a lawsuit from Currituck County. The groups filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case Wednesday.
