Published 3:37 pm Tuesday, August 20, 2024 By Holly Jackson Beautiful views of the Pamlico River, friendly residents and many dining and retail options are just a few reasons why Beaufort County residents enjoy living here. They are also the same reasons why more and more tourists visit the area. According to VisitNC, the state’s official travel guide, tourism spending in Beaufort County was up 5.
9% from 2022 to 2023. Though it can get crowded in the warmer months when most visitors travel to Beaufort County, an increase in their spending is a good thing for all residents. When visitors spend their money here, that money goes to Beaufort County.
Last year, tax savings amounted to $256.68 per resident – not household, according to VisitNC and Washington Tourism Development Authority Director (WTDA), Paula Stephenson. “ Visitors spend more than $97 million per day in North Carolina.
That spending adds $7.1 million per day to state and local tax revenues (about $3.7 million in state taxes and $3.
4 million in local taxes),” VisitNC reports. Earlier this month, VisitNC released a study on statewide visitor spending that broke down spending by county. In Beaufort County, visitors spent $33.
7 million on lodging, $46.12 million on food and beverage, $20.41 million on recreation, $11.
03 million on retail and $31.22 million on transportation for a total of $142.48 million.
Transportation included both ground and air transportation and lodging included second home spending. Step.