10 things to know about tourism along North Carolina's coast
Whether you're looking for sandy beaches or cool mountain streams, North Carolina's got it. That's why the state has become a popular destination for those in the eastern United States.
Each year, Visit North Carolina, the unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina focused on travel and tourism, examines the data to determine just how much visitors contribute to the state and local economies. While the county breakdowns from 2023 won't be released until later this year, here's a look at data from 2022.
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6th
The state’s rank among U.S. states for domestic visitation.
7th
New Hanover County's rank in visitor spending among North Carolina’s 100 counties.
11.2 million
The number of visitors who traveled to the state’s coastal region.
80%
The number of those visitors who stayed overnight.
Summer
The most popular time for travelers to visit the coast.
2.9
Average party size for coastal visitors.
40%
The percentage of travel parties that included children under 18.
$1,341
The average expenditure for parties traveling to the coastal region in 2022.
Where did visitors travel from?
The top states of origin for overnight visitors to the coastal region in 2022 were: North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Georgia.
45%
The percentage of coastal region visitors in 2022 who were in-state residents.
Data Source: 2022 North Carolina Regional Visitor Profile, a publication of Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Research staff of Visit North Carolina created this report based on data from TravelTrakAmerica.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Facts about tourism along North Carolina's coast
