North Carolina Breaks Tourism Spending Record in 2023
Visitor spending continued to break records for North Carolina in 2023, according to data released today (Tuesday) by the NC 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.
“It’s great to see increasing numbers of people continue to flock to North Carolina to see all we have to offer,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “Visitors are investing record amounts of money bolstering our booming tourism industry, and that brings good jobs and income to North Carolina businesses and families.”
The preliminary findings from an annual study commissioned by Visit NC reflect the economic impact of tourism on local economies across the state.
“We’re thrilled that visitor spending has reached a record $35.6 billion and that the growth is spread across the spectrum of local economies,” said NC Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Saunders. “Scenic beauty, authentic experiences and graciousness are at the heart of what makes tourism a vital industry, one that’s anchored by our first-in-talent workforce. It’s a point of pride and honor that North Carolina ranks as the nation’s fifth most-visited state.”
Key findings from the report:
- 2023 saw growth in visitor spending for both urban and rural counties with 98 of North Carolina’s 100 counties seeing increases in spending compared with 2022. Orange, Wake, Camden and Warren were among the counties that led the state’s 6.9 percent growth in visitor spending, which reached a record $35.6 billion.
- Growth in direct tourism employment was also seen among rural and urban counties with nearly 20 percent of counties seeing higher than average growth. Camden led all counties with a 10 percent increase. Other counties with top increases in tourism employment were Orange (up 9.8 percent), Cabarrus (up 9.3 percent), Forsyth (up 8.3 percent), Durham (up 8.1 percent) and Mecklenburg (up 8.0 percent).
- Mecklenburg received $5.8 billion (up 9.6 percent) in traveler expenditures to lead all counties. Wake ranked second with $3.3 billion (up 11.4 percent), followed by Buncombe ($3.0 billion, up 3.0 percent), and Dare ($2.1 billion, up 8.8 percent).
- Mecklenburg had the largest number of direct tourism employees (36,310), an increase of 8.0 percent from 2022. Four other counties had more than 10,000 direct tourism employees: Wake (25,984, up 5.7 percent), Buncombe (19,862, up 2.9 percent), Dare (12,564, up 4.4 percent) and Guilford (11,580, up 5.5 percent).
“The new study underscores the importance of tourism to every county in North Carolina,” said Visit NC's Wit Tuttell. “There’s a lot of competition for travelers’ time and money, and we owe our success to everything from the state’s scenic beauty and outdoor adventure to our mix of tradition and innovation and our welcoming spirit. Those qualities might be hard to measure, but we can follow the trail to a measurable impact on our workforce, our businesses and our tax base. We look forward to continued success.”
Full tables can be accessed at partners.visitnc.com/economic-impact-studies.
NC tourism facts:
- Total spending by domestic and international visitors in North Carolina reached $35.6 billion in 2023. That sum represents a 6.9 percent increase over 2022 expenditures.
- Direct tourism employment in North Carolina increased 4.8 percent to 227,200.
- Direct tourism payroll increased 6.6 percent to nearly $9.3 billion.
- Visitors to North Carolina generated nearly $4.5 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2023. The total represents a 5.8 percent increase from 2022.
- State tax receipts from visitor spending rose 5.6 percent to $1.3 billion in 2023.
- Local tax receipts grew 5.4 percent to $1.2 billion.
- Visitors spend more than $97 million per day in North Carolina. That spending adds $7.1 million per day to state and local tax revenues (about $3.7 million in state taxes and $3.4 million in local taxes).
- Each North Carolina household saved $518 on average in state and local taxes as a direct result of visitor spending in the state. Savings per capita averaged $239.
- North Carolina hosted approximately 43 million visitors in 2023.
The visitor spending study, commissioned by Visit NC and conducted by Tourism Economics, provides preliminary estimates of domestic and international traveler expenditures as well as employment, payroll income, and state and local tax revenues directly generated by these expenditures. The statistical model draws on detailed data from Visit NC as well as data derived from federal and state government sources, nationally known private and non-profit travel organizations, and other travel industry sources.
