Aug. 21. North Carolina visitor spending broke records in 2023, according to data released 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.

—Mecklenburg reported $5.8 billion (up 9.6 percent) in travel expenditures to lead all counties.

—Mecklenburg had the largest number of direct tourism employees (36,310), an increase of 8.0 percent from 2022.

“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,” said Gov. Roy Cooper.

The preliminary findings from an annual study commissioned by VisitNC reflect the economic impact of tourism on local economies across the state.

Gov. Cooper

Key findings:

—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).

—Wake ranked second after Mecklenburg 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).

Full tables can be accessed at partners.visitnc.com/economic-impact-studies.