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Good news this week for North Carolina’s economy.
Governor Pat McCrory and Department of Commerce Secretary John E. Skvarla announced Tuesday that 97 of the state’s 100 counties saw increases in visitor spending last year.
Here in the east, Carteret County had the third largest increase in visitor spending in 2014 at 7.3%.
“We love this area because it feels more like what the Outer Banks used to be back when we were kids,” said Rhonda Carpenter, whose family vacations in Morehead City. “More residential, more family oriented, a lot less tourism and touristy type attractions, but still you get the nice restaurants, the fishing.”
Data from Visit North Carolina showed that visitor spending neared $5 billion in Mecklenburg County, topped $2 billion in Wake County and topped $1 billion in Guilford and Dare counties.
“Tourism is a major force in North Carolina’s economic development,” said Gov. McCrory. “The industry is fueling a continued growth in jobs and contributing substantial sums to the state budget and local economies in every corner of our great state.”
Secretary Skvarla added, “We can take pride in North Carolina’s position as the sixth most-visited state in the nation with nearly 50 million overnight visitors in 2014.”
The study shows tourism employs more than 3,000 people in Carteret County alone.
The visitor spending figures come from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina and conducted by the U.S. Travel Association. The study uses sales and tax revenue data, employment figures and other industry and economic data to determine the overall impact of visitor spending in North Carolina.
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