North Carolina sets new tourism spending record in 2025
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) — North Carolina set a new tourism spending record in 2025, with travelers spending more than $37.2 billion across the state.
Gov. Josh Stein announced the new record Monday, surpassing the previous high of $36.7 billion set in 2024.
“North Carolina remains a great place to visit from our beautiful shore to our breathtaking mountains,” Stein said. “Even in the face of challenges from Hurricane Helene recovery last year, we saw record visitor spending — proof that people want to be here and experience all our state has to offer.”
Tourism spending also had a major impact across the Cape Fear.
Brunswick County saw nearly $1.25 billion in visitor spending in 2025, up 1.3% from the previous year. Tourism supported 6,035 jobs in the county and generated about $37.9 million in state taxes and $52.6 million in local taxes.
New Hanover County recorded more than $1.2 billion in visitor spending, an increase of 5.8% from 2024. Tourism supported 7,250 jobs and generated about $40.2 million in state taxes and $45.1 million in local taxes.
Pender County saw more than $203 million in visitor spending, up 0.4%, while tourism supported 1,051 jobs.
Visitor spending reached about $60.8 million in Columbus County, down 2.8% from 2024, and about $56.3 million in Bladen County, up 0.2%.
Statewide, direct tourism employment increased 0.3% to 230,997 jobs in 2025. Tourism payroll increased 3.5% to $9.8 billion.
Visitor spending generated more than $2.7 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Domestic travelers spent a record $36.1 billion in North Carolina, up 1.5% from 2024. International travelers spent more than $1.1 billion, down 2.8%.
Despite the record spending, North Carolina fell in domestic visitation rankings, dropping from fifth in the country in 2024 to seventh in 2025, behind California, Florida, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
According to Visit North Carolina, visitors spent more than $101 million per day across the state in 2025.
The tourism spending figures are preliminary findings from research commissioned by Visit North Carolina and conducted by Tourism Economics.
