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Murphy – Despite impacts from Hurricane Helene, Cherokee County saw a 1% increase in tourist spending in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Domestic and international visitors to Cherokee County spent $102.43 million in 2024, according to an annual study commissioned by Visit NC, part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.
According to Tourism Development Authority Executive Director Casey Kerr, tourism helps pay people’s salaries, supports local businesses, and funds many services in the county.
“After Hurricane Helene struck in October 2024, the Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority invested extra money into promotional campaigns, helping the county recover,” Kerr said.
She said visitor spending doesn’t just help the economy, it improves residents’ everyday lives. The tourism sector in Cherokee County directly employs over 600 people and contributed $20.62 million in wages in 2024.
State tax revenue tied to tourist spending – through things like sales, excise and income taxes – came to $3.15 million.
On average, each resident saved $247 in state and local taxes because of the money visitors brought into the county, Kerr said. Local taxes collected from occupancy, sales, and property among businesses aided by travel amounted to about $4.24 million, she said.
Statewide, North Carolina saw a record $36.7 billion in visitor spending in 2024, up 3.1% from 2023, and direct tourism employment rose 1.4% to 230,338 people. Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit NC, said the numbers show that, even with challenges like Helene, the state’s travel and tourism industry is resilient.
The study includes the three months after the storm but Tuttell warned that it isn’t meant to precisely measure Helene’s economic damage, rather, it shows how the visitor economy did overall in 2024.
“It’s certainly an indication of where the effects were felt,” he said, “but given the complexities of the tourism industry and the time frame of this research, we need to resist the temptation to view the data as a definitive report of the storm’s economic impact.
“As travelers return, we will celebrate the resiliency behind the mountain recovery efforts that fortify the industry and underscore its value to our workforce, our businesses and our tax base.”