Tourism spending in Currituck County up 2.9 percent in 2020

Currituck Beach Lighthouse. [VisitNC.com]

Domestic and international visitors to and within Currituck County spent over $375 million dollars in 2020, an increase of 2.9 percent from 2019.

The data comes from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

“The Currituck Outer Banks has been extremely fortunate during the peak summer travel seasons of 2020 and 2021,” said Tameron Kugler, Director of the Currituck County Department of Travel and Tourism.

“Unlike several other destinations, we escaped many of the negative impacts that the global pandemic had on travel due to the unique nature of our short-term vacation rental accommodations, which dominate our area. As a predominantly drive-to market, our visitors can travel with their family unit by car to their vacation rental property with minimal to no contact upon arrival, if choosing to do so. In addition, our remote coastal environment is abundantly rich in open space and outdoor activities. For the safety conscious, we were an ideal travel destination during a time of significant uncertainty.”

Currituck County tourism impact highlights for 2020

  • Travel and tourism directly employs more than 2,247 individuals in the county.
  • Total payroll generated by the tourism industry in Currituck County was $88.5 million.
  • State tax revenue generated totaled $12.7 million through state sales and excise taxes, and taxes on personal and corporate income.
  • Approximately $17.6 million in local taxes were generated from sales and property tax revenue from travel-generated and travel-supported businesses.
  • As a result of taxes generated by visitor spending in Currituck County in 2020, each resident* of Currituck County pays $1,083 less in local and state taxes (compared to a $946 savings in 2019) and each household unit** pays $2,697 less in local and state taxes.

These statistics come from the “Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties 2020,” which can be accessed at partners.visitnc.com/economic-impact-studies. The study was prepared for Visit North Carolina by Tourism Economics in collaboration with the U.S. Travel Association.

Statewide, visitor spending was down 32 percent to $19.96 billion compared to 2019. Tourism employment fell 26 percent to 178,685. The losses were most acutely felt in urban areas.

“We are extremely gratified that tourism thrived in 20 counties in the face of pandemic shutdowns and other impediments to travel,” said Visit NC Director Wit Tuttell. “And despite the bad news for North Carolina as a whole, our ranking at No. 5 among states for visitation is a position of strength for rebuilding our tourism economy. Given the state’s resilience and vast appeal of its natural beauty, our creative cities and our authentic experiences at every turn, we’re confident that we’ll regain what has been lost and exceed the spending records of the recent past.”

Statewide highlights include:

  • Domestic and international travelers spent $19.96 billion in North Carolina in 2020. The spending marks a 32 percent decrease from the $29.22 billion spent in 2019.
  • Fourteen of the state’s 100 counties saw gains in visitor spending: Warren, Greene, Yancey, Clay, Stokes, Polk, Northampton, Pender, Ashe, Alleghany, Rutherford, Jones, Currituck and Tyrrell.
  • Visitors to North Carolina generated nearly $3.0 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2020. The total represents a 26.6 percent decrease from 2019.
  • State tax receipts as a result of domestic visitor spending decreased 26.4 percent to more than $891.6 million in 2020.
  • Local tax receipts from domestic visitor spending dropped 21 percent to $906.4 million.
  • Direct tourism employment in North Carolina decreased 26 percent to 178,685.
  • Twenty counties had increases in employment related to visitor spending in 2020: Warren, Greene, Clay, Stokes, Ashe, Yancey, Alleghany, Pender, Macon, Northampton, Jones, Polk, Rutherford, Montgomery, Tyrrell, Dare, Carteret, Madison, Currituck and Swain.
  • Direct tourism payroll decreased 24.5 percent to $6.4 billion.
  • Visitors spend more than $54 million per day in North Carolina. That spending adds $4.9 million per day to state and local tax revenues (about $2.4 million in state taxes and $2.5 million in local taxes).
  • Each North Carolina resident saves on average $170 in state and local taxes as a direct result of visitor spending in the state.
  • North Carolina hosted 37 million visitors in 2020.

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