Visitor spending grows but slowly

SMITHFIELD — Visitor spending in Johnston County grew 4.9% in 2023 over 2022, according to Visit North Carolina, the state’s tourism organization.

“Johnston County’s tourism is certainly growing, with two new hotels opening soon in Benson and Smithfield and several under development in the county,” said Donna Bailey-Taylor, president and chief executive of the Johnston County Visitors.

She expects this year and next to be even better. “We anticipate visitor spending to follow suit with the growth coming in 2024-25 and the opening of the Eastfield Crossing in Selma,” Bailey-Taylor said, referring to the shopping center that will be home to Target and Hobby Lobby, among others.

In Johnston last year, visitor spending grew in all categories, including:

• Lodging — up 3.2% to $61.68 million.

• Food and beverage — up 6.8% to $103.42 million.

• Recreation — up 10.3% to $40.18 million.

• Retail — up 1% to $23.81.

The double-digit gain in recreation wasn’t surprising, Bailey-Taylor said. “Recreation was one of the last sectors to see recovery spending,” she said, referring to post-pandemic Johnston County. “Whereas lodging and food and beverage had larger increases the previous year, recreation is now seeing a bounce back.”

The retail numbers are almost certainly understated, Bailey-Taylor added. “That retail shopping does not include the true impact of the outlet center,” she said, referring to Carolina Premium Outlets in Smithfield. “Just around 20% of sales are attributed to visitors.”

That 20% is the formula Visit NC applies statewide to determine the impact that tourism has on shopping, Bailey-Taylor noted. But that formula fails to recognize that a county with an outlet center is likely to attract more visiting shoppers than one without.

In all, visitors to Johnston County spent $298.95 million in 2023, up from $284.93 million the year before. Statewide, visitor spending grew 6.9% to a record $35.6 billion, according to Visit NC.

Johnston’s 4.9% growth in 2023 was less than half of the 11.5% gain in 2022, but Bailey-Taylor noted that 2022 was a rebound year from the pandemic, which slowed travel spending. “The slower growth is not surprising as in 2022 we were still seeing recovery growth rates,” she said.

Other factors likely played a role too in slower growth, Bailey-Taylor said. “We also have major interstate construction from Lumberton to Dunn and at our hotels on I-40 at Exit 312,” she said. “We consider that major disruption for our tourism partners in all sectors.”

Employment in Johnston’s tourism industry climbed 5.7% in 2023 to 1,895 people. But the average wage in the mostly part-time sector fell $89 to $6,190.

“While you can divide total wages by employment, it’s not always a clear story,” Bailey-Taylor said. “There could very well have been more part-time jobs added last year, which would bring that average down while still maintaining similar full-time wages.”

Statewide, Johnston ranked 28th in visitor spending in 2023, unchanged from 2022.

“Johnston County’s growth in 2023 was 4.9%, a very solid growth,” Bailey-Taylor said. “It’s a little less than the state’s overall growth of 6.9%, but still good growth.”

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