North Carolina tourism hits record $37.2 billion in 2025
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Gov. Josh Stein announced that North Carolina set a record for tourist spending in 2025, with travelers spending more than $37.2 billion on trips to and within the state, surpassing the previous record of $36.7 billion set in 2024.
The state’s tourism-supported workforce increased 0.3% to 230,997 jobs in 2025. Tourism payroll increased 3.5% to $9.8 billion. Also as a result of visitor spending, state and local governments saw tax revenues of more than $2.7 billion.
The figures are preliminary findings from research commissioned by Visit North Carolina, part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), and conducted by Tourism Economics. In measuring the economic value of the travel sector, the research incorporates a broad range of data sources to ensure that the entire visitor economy is quantified in detail. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OmniTrak visitor profiles, the U.S. Census, STR, AirDNA, and KeyData lodging reports and the North Carolina Department of Revenue are among the sources included in this comprehensive model. More information about the study can be found online at visitnc.com/industry/research/economic-impact-studies, which also links to archived reports dating to 2005.
North Carolina ranks No. 7 in domestic visitation. In addition to 2025’s spending by domestic travelers, it also saw spending of more than $1.1 billion from international markets (down 2.8% from 2024).
NC tourism facts:
• Total spending by domestic and international visitors in North Carolina reached $37.2 billion in 2025. That sum represents a 1.3% increase over 2024 expenditures.
• Domestic travelers spent a record $36.1 billion in 2025. Spending was up 1.5% from $35.6 billion in 2024.
• International travelers spent $1.1 billion in 2025, down 2.8% from the previous year.
• Visitors to North Carolina generated more than $4.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2025. The total represents a 2.5% increase from 2024.
• State tax receipts from visitor spending rose 2.0% to nearly $1.4 billion in 2025. Local tax receipts grew 2.6% to more than $1.3 billion.
• Direct tourism employment in North Carolina increased 0.3% to 230,997.
• Direct tourism payroll increased 3.5% to $9.8 billion.
• Visitors spend more than $101 million per day in North Carolina. That spending adds $7.5 million per day to state and local tax revenues (about $3.8 million in state taxes and $3.7 million in local taxes).
• Each North Carolina household saved $605 on average in state and local taxes as a direct result of visitor spending in the state. Savings per capita averaged $244.
