Topics Related to Tourism

This weekend, as Americans tune in to watch the Winter Olympics in Italy, Governor Josh Stein and First Lady Anna Stein are visiting several of North Carolina’s ski resorts to celebrate the mountains and the people who make North Carolina the Winter Sports Capital of the South. Today, they visited Appalachian Ski Mountain’s French-Swiss Ski College and will visit Beech Mountain Ski Resort. Tomorrow, they will explore the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort.

Today Governor Josh Stein joined North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley and local partners to unveil the state’s 2026 schedule of premier events supported by the Major Events, Games, and Attractions Fund. The lineup features crowd-pleasers that create jobs, support local businesses, boost tourism, and reinforce the reasons North Carolina consistently ranks as a top state for business, workforce development, and travel.

In the 12 months since Hurricane Helene damaged Western North Carolina, Governor Josh Stein’s Commerce Department has launched a new division to put $1.4 billion of federal recovery dollars to work, accepted more than 3,400 applications from homeowners seeking recovery help, encouraged tourists to return to the mountains, and paid more than $96 million in disaster-related unemployment insurance benefits to people in need. These key milestones in the state’s ongoing recovery efforts reaffirm North Carolina’s commitment to help families, workers, and businesses rebuild stronger than ever.

Visitor spending increased for 71 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in 2024, contributing to a statewide record total of $36.7 billion in visitor spending, according to county-level data released today by the N.C. Department of Commerce. The preliminary findings from an annual study commissioned by Visit NC, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina reflect the economic impact of tourism on local economies across the state.

Governor Josh Stein announced today that the overall North Carolina tourism economy held strong against the headwinds of Hurricane Helene. Travelers spent more than $36.7 billion on trips to and within the state in 2024. The previous record of $35.6 billion was set in 2023. 

Visitor spending continued to break records for North Carolina in 2023, according to data released Tuesday by the N.C. Department of Commerce. Travel spending statewide rose 6.9 percent to $35.6 billion in 2023 to set a record in visitor spending. That growth followed a record-breaking increase of 15 percent in 2022. Direct tourism employment also increased statewide by 4.8 percent to 227,000.

North Carolina set a record for visitor spending in 2022, according to county-level data released today by the North Carolina Department of Commerce. North Carolina’s urban counties registered the largest gains in 2022 visitor spending, following a few years of rural counties leading visitor spending post-pandemic.The preliminary findings from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, reflect the economic impact of tourism on local economies across the state.

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that the North Carolina tourism economy reached its highest level ever with travelers spending more than $33.3 billion on trips to and within the state. The previous record of $29.22 billion was set in pre-pandemic 2019.“Tourism is a vital economic force in our state supporting thousands of small businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs,” Governor Cooper said. “We can take pride that visitors see North Carolina as a diverse, inclusive and welcoming place and we all need to work to keep it that way.”

The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division has selected 34 local governments from across the state to participate in the Creating Outdoor Recreation Economies (CORE) program.

Visitor spending in North Carolina for 2021, with numbers broken out at the county level. All 100 counties saw increases.