GREENSBORO—2014 proved to be a banner year for North Carolina’s tourism industry.
A newly-released report from the state’s Department of Commerce shows domestic tourists spent $21.3 billion in-state last year, a record high and 5.4 percent increase over 2013.
“We’re seeing that the tourism, hospitality industry economy is very strong and has been throughout the past five years, stronger than some of the other sectors and we’re just continuing to see that growth,” said Mark Shore of Visit North Carolina.
Shore said the state remains attractive to tourists because of the wide range of activities.
“From the mountains to sea, we’ve got a lot of things to offer for visitors coming to the area,” he said.
Overall, the report showed North Carolina as the sixth most-visited state in the country. Nearly 50 million people came last year, supporting 204,000 jobs in the process. Jean Dailey, owner of Dailey Renewal Retreat, a bed and breakfast in downtown Greensboro, said 2014 had been good for business.
“I think it was a record year, based on my experience, because I was looking back and doing the figures for this quarter versus last quarter, and I could tell that it was a huge growth last year,” she said.
Shore said figures so far in 2015 indicate the positive trends will continue.
“All indications are good from what we’re seeing, the research that we do and the numbers that are coming in.”
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