North Carolina’s popularity is rising. And so is that of Martin County.
Record breaking numbers are in, and North Carolina hosted 43 million visitors in 2023. That number also computes into substantially more revenue for the state and counties.
Statewide tourist spending rose 6.9 percent to $35.6 billion in 2023. The annual report by Visit NC shows Martin County’s contribution to the statewide milestone.
The county ranked 84th in total visitor spending according to the report, generating $33.92 in tourist revenue, attributing a 7.1 percent increase over 2022.
Total revenue includes amounts spent on lodging, food and beverages, recreation, retail sales and transportation.
Tourist spending in all categories continued to break records. Within the county, $8.22 million was spent on lodging and $11.34 million on food and beverage. Area recreation contributed $4.26 million to the total while retail sales contributed $2.6 million. Transportation increased to $7.64 million for the $33.91 total.
Martin County Tourism Authority Director Chase Connor was especially pleased with the report.
“There are many factors that can boost tourism in a region. Our northeast region of the state was one of the larger increases in spending growth, meaning more people were visiting and spending money in this region,” he said. “We can attribute some of this to increases in beach traffic and coastal vacations.”
The various annual festivals throughout the county, including Williamston’s Carolina Country Stampede and Bear Grass’ Chicken Mull Festival generate considerable visitor revenue.
“It’s great to see increasing numbers of people continue to flock to North Carolina to see all we have to offer,” said N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper. “Visitors are investing record amounts of money bolstering our booming tourism industry, and that brings good jobs and income to North Carolina businesses and families.”
“We’re thrilled that visitor spending has reached a record $35.6 billion and that the growth is spread across the spectrum of local economies,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “Scenic beauty, authentic experiences and graciousness are at the heart of what makes tourism a vital industry, one that’s anchored by our first-in-talent workforce. It’s a point of pride and honor that North Carolina ranks as the nation’s fifth most-visited state.”
Growth in 2023 was divided between urban and rural destinations and 98 of the state’s 100 counties experienced tourism dollar increases compared to 2022. Growth in direct tourism employment was also seen among rural and urban counties with nearly 20 percent of counties seeing higher than average growth.
“The new study underscores the importance of tourism to every county in North Carolina,” said Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit NC. “There’s a lot of competition for travelers’ time and money, and we owe our success to everything from the state’s scenic beauty and outdoor adventure to our mix of tradition and innovation and our welcoming spirit. Those qualities might be hard to measure, but we can follow the trail to a measurable impact on our workforce, our businesses and our tax base. We look forward to continued success.”
Connor believes outreach is a major contributor to the increased revenue.
“We’ve seen a large increase in venue bookings and hotel spending in 2023, which goes to show how well our managers and event promoters are doing to help bring in new events to our area. Another trend that we’ve been seeing is stays and visitations linked to industry and construction. With industry trainings, expansion and highway projects can all help to increase hotel stays and economic impact to our area,” said Connor.
“On top of all the growth, we feel local leaders and the community have embraced the idea of tourism as development for our region over the past couple years, thus investing more time and money into tourism initiatives,” he added. “This is showing as we are continuing to increase year after year. 2023 was our best fiscal year on record for our tourism office, and we hope it will continue to grow so that we can help support our local residents and community.”
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