2023 Visitor Impact for Catawba County

Domestic and international visitors to and within Catawba County spent $348.22 million in 2023, an increase of 5.1 percent from 2022. The data comes from an annual study commissioned by VisitNC, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

“It was another record-breaking year in Catawba County when it comes to visitor spending,” said Hickory Metro Convention Center & Visitors Bureau CEO Mandy Pitts Hildebrand.  “The growth of economic impact confirms the importance of tourism and the value it adds to our community.”

Tourism impact highlights for 2023:

• The travel and tourism industry directly employs more than 2,495 people in Catawba County.
• The total payroll generated by the tourism industry in Catawba County was $86.7 million.
• State tax revenue generated in Catawba County totaled $14 million through state sales and excise taxes, and taxes on personal and corporate income. About $12 million in local taxes were generated from occupancy, sales, and property tax revenue from travel-generated and travel-supported businesses.

These statistics come from the “Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties 2023,” which can be accessed at partners.visitnc.com/economic-impact-studies. The study was prepared for Visit North Carolina by Tourism Economics.

Statewide, visitor spending rose 6.9 percent in 2023 to a record $35.6 billion. Direct tourism employment increased 4.8 percent to 227,224. 

“The new study underscores the importance of tourism to every county in North Carolina,” said Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit NC. “There’s a lot of competition for travelers’ time and money, and we owe our success to everything from the state’s scenic beauty and outdoor adventure to our mix of tradition and innovation and our welcoming spirit. Those qualities might be hard to measure, but we can follow the trail to a measurable impact on our workforce, our businesses, and our tax base. We look forward to continued success.”

North Carolina tourism facts:  

• Total spending by domestic and international visitors in North Carolina reached $35.6 billion in 2023. That sum represents a 6.9 percent increase over 2022 expenditures.
• Domestic travelers spent a record $34.6 billion in 2023. Spending was up 6.8 percent from $32.4 billion in 2022.
• International travelers spent $997 million in 2023, up 9.5 percent from the previous year. 
• Visitors to North Carolina generated nearly $4.5 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2023. The total represents a 5.8 percent increase from 2022.
• State tax receipts from visitor spending rose 5.6 percent to $1.3 billion in 2023.
• Local tax receipts grew 5.4 percent to $1.2 billion.
• Direct tourism employment in North Carolina increased 4.8 percent to 227,224.
• Direct tourism payroll increased 6.6 percent to nearly $9.3 billion.
• Visitors spend more than $97 million per day in North Carolina. That spending adds $7.1 million per day to state and local tax revenues (about $3.7 million in state taxes and $3.4 million in local taxes).
• Each North Carolina household saved $518 on average in state and local taxes as a direct result of visitor spending in the state. Savings per capita averaged $239.
• North Carolina hosted about 43 million visitors in 2023.