Brunswick, New Hanover County break tourism spending records

BRUNSWICK AND NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY)– Not one, but two Cape Fear counties, passed major milestones for tourism spending last year. 

“I think that tourism remains strong, and we will continue to see it be strong,” said Mitzi York, Brunswick County Tourism Development Authority Executive Director. 

For the first time in history, both Brunswick and New Hanover County exceeded $1 billion dollars in visitor spending. 

That’s a 13.9% increase in New Hanover, and a 12% increase in Brunswick.  

“Tourism plays an essential role into Brunswick County’s economy, so the increase in tourism not only helped our folks directly in the tourism industry but helped the economy overall in Brunswick County.”  

In both counties, tourism officials believe the post-pandemic culture of folks getting vaccinated over the last two years, and feeling safer about going out and traveling played a role in the year’s success.   

“The fact that people wanted quieter places, more outdoor activities, definitely benefited Brunswick County,” said York.    

But in New Hanover County, Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitor’s Bureau says that’s not the only factor in their success.  

“So 2022, we were back to business as usual. And then the other part of that is that we implemented a new out of state marketing initiative in the second half of 2022, and we started to see an uptick,” said Connie Nelson, Wilmington and Beaches CVB Communications and PR Director.  

With the popularity of beaches in both counties, the majority of spending in both counties were in lodging, food, and beverage.   

But these things help support other parts of the economy as a whole.   

“It really impacts the whole community. A lot of folks here are staying in vacation homes, they go to the grocery store, they buy gas, they go shopping,” said York.    

Both counties believe they are in a good position to continue with growth and are looking forward to what the future will bring.   

The travel and tourism industry employs nearly 7 thousand people in New Hanover County, and more than 5 thousand in Brunswick County.