Sept. 17. While domestic travelers to and within Cabarrus County spent $478.16 million in 2019, an increase of 1.9% from 2018, hotel revenue this year is down 60 percent from last year due to the pandemic. The data comes from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

Since the onset of the pandemic, over $24 million in hotel revenue has been lost in Cabarrus County, resulting in a loss of more than $540,000 in local taxes. Since March, 1,400 hotel jobs disappeared.

Cabarrus County tourism by the numbers:

—The travel and tourism industry directly employs more than 4,660 people

—Total payroll generated by the tourism industry in Cabarrus County was $113.69 million

—State tax revenues totaled $26.91 million and local tax revenues totaled $8.36 million from travel to Cabarrus County

—Taxes generated by visitor spending represent a tax savings of $165.64 per resident

—Cabarrus County ranks 12th in travel impact among North Carolina’s 100 counties

These statistics are from the “Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties 2019,” which can be accessed at partners.visitnc.com/economic-impact-studies.