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Report: Visitor spending is up across North Carolina

Visitor spending grew in 2021 compared to the previous year in Guilford County. Keri Brown/WFDD

A new study shows that visitor spending is up across North Carolina. The Triad area saw some big gains.

Recovery in visitor spending was felt statewide in 2021 compared to the previous year with all 100 counties seeing increases.

Overall, it's up 45 percent.

That's according to the report, commissioned by Visit NC. The research was conducted by the U.S. Travel Association in collaboration with Tourism Economics, a travel data company. 

Guilford County ranked fifth with more than $1.2 billion. Food and beverage spending was at the top, followed by transportation and lodging. 

Henry Fourrier, president of the Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, says youth sports and outdoor activities also played a role in the county's standing. That includes soccer, track and field, basketball and USA swimming and diving competitions. 

“It seems the youth and their parents were continuing to compete and I think that's what kept us in the playing field, no pun intended, and also put us back on the map," says Fourrier.

Mecklenburg County came in the top spot for visitor spending with more than $4 billion.

Forsyth County ranked high on the list with more than $800 million.  

Stokes is also highlighted in the report. It was one of many counties that saw higher spending last year than it did in 2019, before the pandemic.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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