Chapel Hill, NC - (September 1, 2020) – Visit North Carolina announced today that domestic visitors to and within Orange County, NC spent $218 million in 2019, a 5% increase from 2018. This represents a tax savings of $111.02 per county resident.

The data comes from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and shows that last year tourism continued to be a major driver of economic development in Orange County and across the state.

Orange County Tourism Spending Impact highlights for 2019:
•    Domestic tourism spending to and within Orange County was $218.38 million, up 4.99% over 2018.
•    The travel and tourism industry directly employs 1,970 in Orange County, up 1.5% over 2018.  
•    Total payroll generated by the tourism industry in Orange County was $42.98 million, a 2.5% increase.
•    State tax revenue generated in Orange County totaled $11.62 million through state sales and excise taxes, and taxes on personal and corporate income. This is a 4.4% increase over 2018.
•     $4.71 million in local taxes, an increase of 4.1%, were generated from sales and property tax revenue from travel-generated and travel-supported businesses.

These statistics are from the “Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties 2019,” which can be accessed at partners.visitnc.com/economic-impact-studies. The study was prepared for Visit North Carolina by the U.S. Travel Association. Economic impact is represented by measures of spending, employment, payroll, and tax revenues.    
           
Visitors to North Carolina spent $26.75 billion in 2019 representing an increase of 5.6 percent from 2018.

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About the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau
As the official accredited destination marketing organization of Chapel Hill and Orange County, the mission of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau is to develop and coordinate visitor services in Orange County and to implement marketing programs that will enhance the economic activity and quality of life in the community. The Visitors Bureau is a department of Orange County, NC Government. For information:  www.VisitChapelHill.org