Visitors to North Carolina spent more than $15 billion on tourism-related activities last year for the largest single-year rise in tourism since 1990, officials announced.
That was even better than the national increase in tourism, which was 7.7%, according to wire services.
Even better news for the state is that Winston-Salem will be the host of the 2008 conference on tourism.
The data is from a preliminary study of the state’s tourism industry by the Travel Industry Association of America. The annual study uses tax-revenue data to determine the overall tourism economic impact from domestic and international sources.
North Carolina ranks sixth in the nation for tourism-related visitors.
About 45 million people visited the state last year.
Report by David Wilkening
