The Division recently completed the 2011 analysis of international visitation to the state. The analysis concluded that in 2011, more than 680,000 international visitors spent time in North Carolina, spending over $312 million. These estimates do not include Canadian visitation.
The top countries of origin for N.C. were the United Kingdom (81,497) and Germany (61,053), followed by Mexico (42,470), Japan (32,383) and India (31,424). These top countries accounted for more than one-third of the international spending in the state.
Interesting information from the analysis includes:
- Visitors from China have the highest per person spending ($737) followed closely by visitors from Switzerland ($627)
- Visitors from Asia, particularly India and Japan, spend a much larger proportion of their total spending on lodging than European visitors to North Carolina, likely due to a longer length of stay
- European visitors to North Carolina tend to spend more on restaurants and dining, while visitors from South America and India spend more in supermarkets, indicating that they may be cooking in their places of lodging rather than eating out
- German, Swiss and Italian visitors have the highest propensity to rent cars while in North Carolina, spending a larger proportion of their total spending on auto rental and oil/gas than visitors from other countries
- Spending on clothing and jewelry rank high for all countries of origin, particularly Venezuela, China/Hong Kong, Mexico and Brazil
The report data represents conservative projected estimates by the Division based on assumptions derived from government data, market penetration data, other independent research sources and aggregate Visa usage data provided by VisaVue Travel for the period of calendar year 2011. To view the full summary report, click here. For more information on the Division’s research, contact Marlise Taylor at (919) 733-7278. For more information on the Division’s international marketing program, contact Heidi Walters at (919) 715-6702.