“Tourism is an important portion of our local economy,” said Tammy Proctor, Pender County’s tourism director.
In Pender County, according to the 2015 County Economic Impact numbers, 820 jobs are the direct result of the local tourism industry, which in turn equals an annual county payroll of $16.31 million.
State tax revenue generated in Pender County totaled$4.45 million through state sales and excise taxes, and taxes on personal and corporate income. More than $6.3 million in local taxes were generated from sales and property tax revenue from travel-generated and travel-supported businesses.
“Pender County experienced increases in all indicators in the Economic Impact study,” said Proctor. “We had 3 percent growth; an increase in payroll by 7.4 percent and an increase in jobs by 3.3 percent. Our state tax receipts realized a 7 percent increase. Our local tax receipts realized 3.9 percent growth.”
Gov. Pat McCrory announced in May that visitors to North Carolina set a record for spending in 2015. The $21.96 billion in total spending represented an increase of 3 percent from 2014.
“All eight economic development regions of the state had spending growth of 2 percent or more, and 91 percent of the state’s counties saw direct tourism employment growth from 2014 to 2015,” said Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit North Carolina. “Tourism continues to be a major driver of economic development across North Carolina, which is the sixth most-visited state in the country.”
The Economic Impact study was prepared for Visit North Carolina by the U.S. Travel Association. The study, commissioned by Visit North Carolina, is available from the Pender County Tourism office or online at partners.visitnc.com/economic-impact-studies.
