Domestic visitors to and within Orange County spent 4.4 percent more money in 2016 than 2015, according to Visit North Carolina.

Tourists in Orange County spent over $192 million last year, which represents a tax savings of over $103 per Orange County resident.

Orange County Commissioner and Orange County Visitors Bureau board member Penny Rich explains that this increase in tourism benefits the county in a myriad of ways.

“It has a snowball effect,” says Rich. “It’s not only people coming to visit, but how people then come back and work for [the tourism industry]. We have an increase in payroll and people pay tax on that. There’s a whole cause-and-effect that goes on with it.”

The travel and tourism industry directly employs 1,890 people in Orange County, which is up 3.5 percent from 2015.

WCHL’s Aaron Keck spoke with Orange County Visitors Bureau director Laurie Paolicelli about the new numbers.

 

North Carolina as a whole also saw a 4.4 percent increase in tourism spending which, in the aftermath of House Bill 2, comes as a surprise to many. Rich believes that the increase could have been even larger had it not been for HB2.

“What we find HB2 is still affecting is associations that are coming for a number of days to have meetings here,” says Rich. “They block out rooms in hotels, and that business is still not back.”

Even though HB2 was repealed and partially replaced by House Bill 142, the state is still feeling the impact of the unpopular legislation commonly referred to as the “Bathroom Bill”.

“It’s not ideal,” says Rich. “We still have states that don’t allow people to travel here for business.”

According to Director of the Orange County Visitors Bureau Laurie Paolicelli, some key draws of travel and tourism to and within the county are UNC, Healthcare, walkability, arts, food and climate.