County Spending by Domestic Visitors Increases by (3.19%)
Sampson County, N.C. (August 24, 2018) – Visit North Carolina announced today that domestic visitors to and within Sampson County spent $52.21 million in 2017, an increase of 3.19% from 2016.
“Travel and Tourism is an important economic generator that infused many dollars into our local economy last year. The economic impact of travel and tourism in Sampson County increased over 3%”, stated Ms. Sheila Barefoot, Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Not only does our county benefit from the visitor industry in dollars, but visitors and our local residents also benefit from the quality of life in which it contributes. “We are excited of all of the new things that we are working on in Sampson county.”
Tourism impact highlights for 2017:
- The travel and tourism industry directly employees more than 300+ in Sampson County.
- Total payroll generated by the tourism industry in Sampson County was $7,230,000.
- State tax revenue generated in Sampson County totaled $2,940,000 through state sales and excise taxes, and taxes on personal and corporate income. About $1,690,000 in local taxes were generated from sales and property tax revenue from travel-generated and travel-supported businesses. Both totaled tax savings per Sampson County resident is $73.32.
Gov. Roy Cooper announced in May that visitors to North Carolina set a record for spending in 2016. The $22.9 billion in total spending represented an increase of 4.4 percent from 2015.
These statistics are from the “Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties 2016,” 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.
“All eight economic development regions of the state had spending growth of 3 percent or more, and 96 percent of the state’s counties saw direct tourism employment growth from 2015 to 2016,” said Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit North Carolina. “Tourism continues to be major driver of economic development across North Carolina, which is the sixth most-visited state in the country.”
Statewide highlights include:
- State tax receipts as a result of visitor spending rose 5.1 percent to nearly $1.2 billion in 2016.
- Visitors spend more than $62 million per day in North Carolina. That spending adds more than $5.1 million per day to state and local tax revenues (about $3.2 million in state taxes and $1.9 million in local taxes).
- The travel and tourism industry directly employees more than 219,000 North Carolinians.
- Each North Carolina household saves $497 in state and local taxes as a direct result of visitor spending in the state.
CONTACT:
Sheila G. Barefoot
Director, Sampson County Convention and Visitors Bureau
414 Warsaw Rd, Clinton, NC 28328
sbarefoot@visitsampsonnc.com
www.visitsampsonnc.com
910-592-2557
View PDF Version of Press Release
