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| “The
Wilmington and Beaches
CVB is pleased to announce that visitor spending in New Hanover County
once again set a new benchmark in 2024, marking our third consecutive year
to exceed the $1 billion mark,” states Kim
Hufham, president/CEO of the New Hanover County Tourism Development
Authority.
 Another metric that the CVB uses to measure tourism growth is room occupancy taxes [ROT]. During calendar year 2024, countywide ROT collections exceeded $25 million dollars ($25,039,714), a slight increase of 0.42% over the previous ROT benchmark set in 2023. “While the increases in room occupancy taxes and visitor spending were not as large in 2024 as in recent years, the amounts are significantly higher than they were during the pre-COVID year 2019,” states Hufham. “A leveling-off effect is not uncommon following periods of double-digit increases.” Travel and tourism is vital to the economic success of New Hanover County, especially in terms of jobs, small businesses, growth and quality of place. Our community benefits from visitor spending through job creation and a room tax base that helps fund beach renourishment, the Wilmington Convention Center, ocean safety programs, and other tourism-related projects. Additionally, travel-generated state and local tax revenues help offset the tax burden of local citizens. Tourism impact highlights for 2024:
Statewide, visitor spending in 2024 rose 3.1 percent to reach a record $36.7 billion. Visitors spend more than $100 million per day in North Carolina. That spending adds $7.3 million per day to state and local tax revenues. Direct tourism employment in the state increased 1.4 percent to 230,338. “The study confirms the strength of North Carolina’s tourism industry,” said Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit NC. “The fact of spending growth, even in the headwinds of Hurricane Helene, underscores the industry’s vitality and the appeal of our destinations and the authentic cultural, recreational and culinary experiences that travelers find rewarding.” Tuttell noted that while the data includes the three months of 2024 that followed the storm, the study’s timing, methodology and purpose are not intended to be an evaluation of storm impact on visitation or spending, but a gauge of the overall health of the visitor economy for 2024. “It’s certainly an indication of where the effects were felt,” he said, “but given the complexities of the tourism industry and the timeframe of this research, we need to resist the temptation to view the data as a definitive report of the storm’s economic impact. As travelers return, we will celebrate the resiliency behind the mountain recovery efforts that fortify the industry and underscore its value to our workforce, our businesses and our tax base.” About
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Release: Three
Statewide Organizations to Host Conferences in Wilmington During August
& September (08/14/25)
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