Visitors spent more than $1 billion in Forsyth County last year, Visit NC reported this week. Forsyth had a 6.9% uptick in visitor spending to $1.
06 billion, exceeding the previous high of $996 million in 2019. After spending plunged to $527.3 million in 2020 during the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Forsyth and most North Carolina counties have gradually recovered visitor spending the past three years.
Forsyth remained ranked ninth in visitor spending during 2023. "Visit Winston-Salem implements sales and marketing strategies that motivate meetings, groups, sporting events and leisure travelers to choose Forsyth County," said Stephanie Pace Brown, the agency's president. "These efforts create economic vitality by enhancing the customer base for our local businesses, support jobs, and generate taxes — all for the benefit of the people who live here.
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Another improvement: Visitor expenditures generated $72.6 million in local and state tax revenues in 2022, compared with $67.9 million in 2022; $63.
9 million in 2021, $42 million in 2020 and $77 million in 2019. The sharp decline in visitor spending from 2019 to 2020 was expected given people's limited ability to travel during the early months of the pandemic. Visit NC reported that visitor food and beverage spending again was tops in Forsyth at $328.
45 million, followed by $317.05 million in transportation expenditures, $206.54 million in lodging, $126.
38 million in recreation and $77.73 mill.