Pender County Tourism announces 14.7 percent increase in visitor spending

PENDER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Pender County Tourism announced Friday that domestic and international visitors in the county spent $189.66 million in 2022, up by 14.7 percent from the previous year.

The data is from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina, which is a part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

“The tourism industry in Pender County continues to grow and once again, visitor spending hit an all-time high in our county,” said Tammy Proctor, Pender County Tourism director. “Tourism is driven by natural resources and outdoor recreation, history, agriculture and aquaculture, and film. Pender County offers visitors all these attractions.”

The county says that the travel and tourism industry directly employs over 1,004 people in the county, and payroll generated by the industry in Pender Co. was $39.6 million.

“The state tax revenue generated in Pender County totaled $6.2 million through state sales and excise taxes, and taxes on personal and corporate income. About $8.9 million in local taxes were generated from sales and property tax revenue from travel-generated and travel-supported businesses. The taxes generated by visitors save each Pender County resident $231.98,” a county announcement states.

Across the state, visitor spending in 2022 rose 15.2 percent to reach a record $33.3 billion.

“The new report from Tourism Economics shows growth beyond our celebrated mountains and beaches to our urban centers and surrounding suburban and rural counties,” Visit NC Executive Director Wit Tuttell said. “Tourism’s strength across the state underscores the industry’s role as an anchor of economic development. The money visitors spend benefits everyone by sustaining jobs and reducing the tax burden for every resident.”