Travel spending dips locally
By Scott Nicholson

Watauga County experienced a slight dip in travel and tourism expenditures in 2008, according to preliminary data from N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development.

Watauga had $190 million in tourism expenditures during the year, a decrease of seven-tenths of a percent from 2007. Travel and tourism created an estimated payroll of nearly $44 million and generated nearly $8 million in tax revenue.

Among surrounding counties, Ashe saw a 1 percent increase and Avery saw a decline of 1.1 percent.

Currituck County had the state’s biggest decline at 6 percent, while Onslow had an 8.3 percent increase.

Wright Tilley, director of Watauga County Tourism Development Authority, said Watauga’s occupancy tax collections were up nearly 4 percent that year. “I think people are taking shorter giveaways,” Tilley said. “I think business travel took a bigger hit than leisure travel.”

Tilley said through the first six months of 2009, visitor occupancy in short-term lodging was down about 10 percent over the same period in 2008. “Indications are that things are stabilizing a little bit,” he said. “In March, we were down about mid-40 percent,” he said. “But overall, I think everybody is tracking down a little bit for 2009.”

Tilley said the TDA’s thrust was to get visitors to choose Watauga County as a destination. He said he’s seen little data on spending patterns, but the data suggests tourists are spending less on average.

Overall, domestic visitors to and within North Carolina spent a record $16.9 billion in 2008, an increase of 2.1 percent from 2007. Sixty-two of the state’s 100 counties saw increases in visitor spending in 2008, including 16 counties that had increases of more than 5 percent.

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,” said Gov. Perdue in a statement. “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. The study uses sales and tax revenue data plus employment figures to determine the overall impact of visitor spending in North Carolina.