Gov. Bev Perdue announced on Wednesday that 62 of the state’s 100 counties saw increases in visitor spending in 2008, including 16 counties that had increases of more than 5 percent.
Vance County saw an increase of 1% during the same time period.
Data from the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development showed domestic visitors to and within North Carolina spent a record $16.9 billion in 2008, an increase of 2.1 percent from 2007.
Visitor expenditures directly generated 190,500 jobs and nearly $4.2 billion in payroll income within North Carolina in 2008. Payroll increased 3.9 percent from 2007. Visitor spending in the state also directly generated close to $2.7 billion in tax revenue for federal, state and local governments in 2008, up 3.6 percent from 2007.
“We know that current economic conditions are affecting businesses all across the state, including those in the tourism industry,” Gov. Perdue said. “But this continued economic growth, and especially growth in tax revenues, is encouraging.”
The visitor spending figures are the results of an annual study commissioned by the Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development and conducted by the U.S. Travel Association.
Data for all North Carolina counties may be viewed here.