Below please find the 2024 Johnston County Visitors Bureau Annual Report, which covers the fiscal year 2023-24. The 36-page report provides a review of 2023 Visitor Spending highlights provided to the Bureau by the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and the VisitNC team. It also covers many of the highlights of the Bureau’s efforts to market the county using the hotel room tax paid by visitors staying in accommodations in the county.
If you love numbers like we do here at the Bureau, the most outstanding numbers for the impact that tourism has for the county are these:
Visitors spent $298.95 million in 2023 in JoCo
A 4.9% increase over 2022 spending
This places the county 28th in the state in total spending, and third in the Triangle
Visitor spending accounted for $9.2 million in local taxes, which help provide services to residents
As anticipated, the mild recession we were told was coming did impact travel to some degree. It was not a terrible year for our tourism industry partners -- but hotel occupancy was down 4% with ADR up $2. An up and down year might be the best way to describe this year for our partners. Workforce remains a challenge for all sectors of the industry, food prices and rising prices for dining out, road construction in every corner of the county, legislative issues facing our restaurants and hotels, high gas prices, and just terrible weather. Looking ahead, the most promising aspect on the horizon is the anticipated growth over the next 12-36 months. The amenities sought after by both residents and visitors, including new retail mixed-use developments, hiking and biking trails, public parks, new nightlife, and entertainment options, are aligning with the growth in our residential communities.
Watch the video below to learn about the Johnston County Visitors Bureau (JCVB), where our funding comes from, how much visitors spend each day in JoCo, and more! Tourism Does That?! is also a monthly newsletter from the JCVB that you can sign-up for on the About page of our website. Our mission remains primarily to market the county to attract visitors, but we have added a second mission for our community leaders and residents to better understand the importance of tourism to the county and the economic impact it has for everyone.
The Johnston County Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization representing visitor industry businesses across the county. For information on working with the Visitors Bureau’s many programs, applying for Matching Marketing Grants or Capital Grants, or to place listings or events on the website, visit our About page or call 919-989-8687. We are in this together to showcase our county to visitors from all over the world (and especially those traveling I-95 and I-40!).