2024 Visitor Impact for Durham County

For Immediate Release:

Visitor Spending in Durham County Surpasses $1 Billion for Third Year in a Row

[DURHAM, N.C.] September 4, 2025 — Domestic and international visitors to Durham County spent $1.16 billion in 2024. Visitors also contributed more than $80 million in state and local tax revenue that same year. This data comes from an annual study commissioned by Visit NC, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. A separate study found that Durham County opened its doors to a record 13.2 million visitors in 2024.

“The economic impact of tourism isn’t always obvious,” said Susan Amey, president and CEO of Discover Durham. “’That’s why this study is so significant each year. It illustrates how the tourism sector supports many industries — lodging, food and beverage, retail and recreation — that impact our quality of life as residents. Approximately two-thirds of food and beverage jobs are directly supported by tourism, which puts into perspective how so many of our favorite, locally owned small businesses are sustained by visitors.”

Discover Durham, the community’s globally accredited destination marketing organization reinvests a portion of the occupancy taxes paid by visitors to drive economic impact in Durham by promoting Durham to attract and serve more visitors. Last fiscal year, Discover Durham secured more than 331 million media impressions from its PR efforts, over 31 million social media impressions and 82 million impressions from its ongoing advertising campaign, “Do it in Durham.”

Durham County tourism impact highlights for 2024:

• The travel and tourism industry directly supported more than 7,700 jobs in Durham County.
• Total payroll generated by the tourism industry in Durham County was $317 million, a $13 million increase from 2023.
• State and local tax revenue generated by visitors to Durham County totaled $81.4M, which includes revenue from occupancy, sales and excise taxes, plus property, personal, and corporate tax income associated with travel-generated and travel-supported businesses.

These statistics come from the “Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties 2024,” which can be accessed at https://partners.visitnc.com/economic-impact-studies. The study was prepared for Visit NC by Tourism Economics.

According to Visit NC Executive Director Wit Tuttell, scenic beauty, outdoor adventure, culinary innovation and authenticity help North Carolina remain a top choice for travelers. “That appeal might be hard to quantify,” he said, “but as we follow the numbers, we see the payoff in terms of the money that goes to businesses as well as state and local tax bases.”

Statewide tourism impact highlights for 2024:

• Total spending by domestic and international visitors in North Carolina reached $36.7 billion in 2024. That sum represents a 3.1% increase over 2023 expenditures. Durham County’s year-over-year spending growth of 3% nearly matched the state average.
• Domestic travelers spent a record $35.6 billion in 2024. Spending was up 2.7% from $34.6 billion in 2023.
• International travelers spent $1.2 billion in 2024, up 16.5% from the previous year.
• Visitors to North Carolina generated nearly $4.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2024. The total represents a 2.9% increase from 2023.
• State tax receipts from visitor spending rose 1.1% to nearly $1.4 billion in 2024.
• Local tax receipts grew 4.3% to nearly $1.3 billion.
• Direct tourism employment in North Carolina increased 1.4% to 230,338.
• Direct tourism payroll increased 2.6% to $9.5 billion.
• Visitors spend more than $100 million per day in North Carolina. That spending adds $7.3 million per day to state and local tax revenues (about $3.7 million in state taxes and $3.6 million in local taxes).
• Each North Carolina household saved $593 on average in state and local taxes as a direct result of visitor spending in the state. Savings per capita averaged $241.

“Discover Durham facilitated the development of a Destination Master Plan in 2024, which resulted in the establishment of Durham Next, with this data from Visit NC in mind, exploring how greater investments in tourism can create additional benefits for people who live and work in Durham,” said Tara Kenchen, executive director of Durham Next. “By reinvesting a small portion of just the occupancy tax generated by visitors to further develop infrastructure and programming that drives tourism, we can more positively impact our community’s opportunities and quality of life. Durham Next’s core work lives at this intersection, and we’re excited to get to work.”

To learn more about Discover Durham’s role in the county’s economic development, visit https://www.discoverdurham.com/about/. To learn more about Durham Next’s mission to invest in Durham as the best place to live, work and visit, go to https://durhamnext.org/.

Discover Durham, a globally accredited destination marketing organization, tells Durham, North Carolina’s story to attract visitors and drive economic progress. Discover Durham strategically markets the community to millions of people each year, helping to fuel sales at local businesses, create jobs, generate tax revenues and enhance the quality of life for locals. These efforts are funded by occupancy tax revenue collected from visitors across the county. Discover Durham also operates both the Durham Sports Commission, a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to create economic and social impact by recruiting and supporting local sporting events at all levels, and Durham Next, a 501(c)(3) visionary community partnership for the sustainable advancement of Durham as the best place to live, work and visit. For more information about Durham, visit www.discoverdurham.com, or follow on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.