Leisure travelers push Wake tourism $ to 'best year on record'
People in the Triangle spent a record amount dining out and staying in hotels in 2022, according to Visit Raleigh's year-end report.
The Wake County 2022 Tourism Industry Report shows hotel occupancy tax and prepared food and beverage tax collections pulled in more than $73 million – a reached record highs last year.
"As soon as the mask mandates were lifted, we started seeing conventions returning, festivals and events. Concert season was back to normal," said Dennis Edwards, president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Joel Fuller, general manager of the Sheraton hotel in downtown Raleigh, said bookings are very close to pre-pandemic levels, and they are being led by leisure travelers.
Edwards said, "Pre-pandemic, business travel was really our bread and butter for the hotel industry, and that is the market that has been slow to recover. Business travel is still not back to where it was, but fortunately the interest in Raleigh and Wake County for the leisure traveler has picked up that slack.
"We're starting to see a lot more people coming here for vacations, or visiting friends and relatives, or just a quick getaway."
Fuller believe there is still pent up demand that could push tourism to another record in 2023.
"I think people are still just very anxious to get out and get traveling again, so we expect it to be a very busy year for us," he said.
According to the report, hotel lodging tax collections totaled nearly $33 million in 2022, up 45.4% from 2021. Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled $40.8 million in 2022, up 19.4% over 2021.
Numbers show hotel occupancy rose to 66.8% year-to-date, outpacing the state average of 61.9% and the national average of 62.7%.
More than 4.7 million people visited the area in 2022 to attend events, conferences and tournaments hosted by Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA).
For 2023, Visit Raleigh and GRSA have already booked 333 events, with an impact of nearly 206,000 room-nights of future business and a projected $131.3 million in economic impact.
