NC tourists spent $4 billion in Mecklenburg County last year, study shows
Visitors to Mecklenburg County spent $4.1 billion in 2021, the most of any county in the state, according to a newly-released study from the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
That amount also represents a 46% increase from 2020, signaling the local economy is beginning to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release from the agency.
The $28.9 billion spent by visitors in North Carolina last year is a 45% increase from 2020, and just 1% shy of the record $29.2 billion spent in 2019, according to Visit North Carolina, an online travel-planning resource.
The study, conducted by Tourism Economics, a company that analyzes tourism metrics, revealed that each of the state’s 100 counties experienced an increase in visitor spending from 2020 to 2021.
Here are some other key findings from the data:
Six counties in the Charlotte area – Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Union and Iredell – accounted for nearly 20% of total visitor spending in the state in 2021.
Cabarrus County had the largest percentage increase in visitor spending from 2020 to 2021 (67.2%) among counties in the Charlotte area.
Lincoln County drew the lowest share of revenue from visitors among counties in the Charlotte area in 2021 ($81.6 million).
Mecklenburg County had the largest number of tourism employees – 28,438 – an increase of nearly 6% from 2020.
Cabarrus County had the fourth-largest percentage increase in tourism employees (21%).
Here are the five counties in North Carolina where visitors spent the most money, according to the data:
Mecklenburg: $4.1 billion
Buncombe: $2.6 billion
Wake: $2.3 billion
Dare: $1.8 billion
Guilford: $1.3 billion
This story was originally published August 19, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
