New Hanover County tourism leader says county is no longer just a summer destination

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — From the beaches to numerous other attractions, tourism remains a strong economic driver in the Cape Fear.

Even after a record-setting 2024, tourism continues to rise in New Hanover County.

Based on hotel room occupancy tax receipts, New Hanover County Tourism Development President and CEO Kim Hufham said the county is experiencing growth in the number of people staying, both during the busy summer season and in the slower off-season.

“We’re especially seeing growth in our offseason, or what we call our soft season, which is one of our goals is to make sure and fill those months that are generally not our June, July, and August, which are of course our really busy summer months,” Hufham said.

Hufham acknowledged that a challenge the county will have to overcome this year is the renovations to the Aquarium at Fort Fisher that will start sometime this year.

“Anytime you close something down like that, it does affect your numbers. Also, about all the wonderful things we have to do here because we have so many great attractions and things to do, for people to do year-round.”

She also explained why a town like Wrightsville Beach would consider changes to its paid parking rates to be cheaper on weekdays and more expensive on the weekend.

“We want to be able to drive the traffic especially during the week, because that is usually when our traffic is not as heavy. Weekends, we know that, even right on through the fall, winter and spring months, weekends are always good for us. So you know, we would like to be able to spread that out and hopefully that may encourage more people to come down to Wrightsville Beach during the week.”