Cleveland County tops list in report: Tourism fuels $1.3B in NC tax receipts

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square

Bodie Island Lighthouse protects mariners seeking entrance into Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks of North Carolina Nov. 11, 2017. Bodie Island is one of six lighthouses that dot the Outer Banks shoreline. Andrew Winz, U.S. Coast Guard | DVIDS

(The Center Square) – Local tax receipts grew 4.3% to $1.3 billion through 2024 tourism in North Carolina, with 71 of 100 counties having increased visitor spending, the state Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The state previously announced a record $36.7 billion year for 2024. Cleveland, Burke and Iredell counties with double-digit increases in visitor spending, with Burke second in the state at a 7.6% increase in tourism employment.

Stokes County’s 8.8% led tourism employment increases. Stokes, Ashe, Union and Gaston counties were the others with double-digit increases in visitor spending, and Gaston (7%), Union (6.7%) and Ashe (6.2%) all upped tourism employment as well.

Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte as the nation’s 14th largest city at nearly 950,000, pulled in $6.4 billion in traveler expenditures, the report says. That was up 9.1%. Wake County was a distant second at $3.5 billion, still up 7.8%.

North Carolina’s mountains were hit hard on Sept. 27 by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Buncombe County and Asheville, in particular, were devastated. Still, Buncombe was No. 3 in total traveler expenditures at $2.7 billion though down 10.6%.

Of the top 10 in traveler expenditures, coastal counties Dare ($2.1 billion), Brunswick ($1.2 billion) and New Hanover ($1.1 billion) were Nos. 4, 6 and 8; golfing mecca Moore County was 10th at $860 million.

Tourism employment is greatest in Mecklenburg County at nearly 38,000. Only four other counties have as many as 10,000.

Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said in a release, “North Carolina has something for everyone, and that’s why so many of our destinations shared the wealth in a record year for visitor spending. Despite the impact of Hurricane Helene, this report speaks to the resilient and enduring appeal of the cultural, recreational and culinary experiences that make North Carolina a top choice for so many travelers.”

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Alan Wooten has been a publisher, general manager and editor. His work has won national or state awards in every decade since the 1980s. He’s a proud graduate of Elon University and Farmville Central High in North Carolina.