Raleigh, N.C. (Feb. 19, 2024) – Visit Raleigh has released the year-end 2023 Wake County Tourism Industry Report. Key performance indicators (KPIs), hospitality tax collections and prepared food and beverage tax collections continued their upward trajectory throughout 2023. Hotel occupancy continued to outperform state and national averages, showing sustained strong demand for overnight visitation in Wake County.

Highlights:
Highest Year on Record for Tourism Tax Collections

• Hotel lodging tax collections totaled more than $38 million through the end of 2023, up 15.6% YTD over 2022.
• Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled $44.6 million through calendar year 2023, up 9.3% over 2022.
• Both hotel lodging and prepared food and beverage tax collections for 2023 were the highest year on record, and 12.13% higher than 2022.

Bookings and Hotel Performance

• Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) hosted 367 events, tournaments, conferences, festivals and groups in 2023, welcoming nearly 629,000 attendees to the area.
• Through the end of 2023, hotel occupancy remained steady at 68.5% year-to-date (YTD), up nearly 3% over 2022 and higher than the state and national averages for the year.

Future Business/Tourism Outlook

• Throughout 2023, Visit Raleigh and GRSA booked 398 events for future dates, bringing nearly 299,000 room-nights of future business to Wake County and generating a projected $206.3 million in direct economic impact.

“Record hospitality tax collections, partnered with hotel occupancy outperforming state and national averages here in 2023, demonstrates the strong desirability of visiting Raleigh, N.C.,” said Dennis Edwards, President and CEO of Visit Raleigh. “Tourism has shown a resilient rebound with new restaurants, hotels and attractions regularly opening throughout the area and a record number of international flight destinations for RDU International Airport in 2024.”

Below is a full breakdown of the tourism and hospitality industry performance throughout Wake County in 2023.

Wake County hospitality industry KPIs – according to the Smith Travel Research:
(January 1 – December 31, 2023)

All KPIs for the Wake County hospitality industry increased throughout 2023, resulting in comparable numbers to the pre-pandemic 2019 end of year reports. According to STR, through the end of 2023, Wake County Occupancy rose by nearly 3% YTD, Average Daily Rate (ADR) increased by over 8% YTD and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) increased by more than 11% YTD.

Hospitality Industry Tax Collections in 2023:
Wake County’s leisure and business travel increased in 2023, leading to record-high hotel occupancy and prepared food and beverage tax collections. Hotel lodging tax collections for 2023 totaled more than $38 million, a 15.6% increase over 2022. Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled more than $44 million, up more than 9% YTD over 2022.

Interviews with a Visit Raleigh spokesperson can be arranged via phone, video conference or in person. To arrange an interview, please contact Public Relations and International Tourism Manager Veronica Thring at vthring@visitraleigh.com.

About the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh): 
As the official destination marketing organization for Wake County, the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh), is responsible for promoting Wake County as an attractive travel destination and enhancing its public image as a dynamic place to live and work. Through the impact of travel, the organization strengthens the economic position of and provides opportunity for people throughout Wake County. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes nearly 18 million visitors annually whose spending tops $3 billion. The visitor economy supports over 24,500 local jobs in Wake County and generates $287 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $601 in taxes annually. visitRaleigh.com 

About the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA): 
A division of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh) – the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) markets and promotes Raleigh and all of Wake County in order to generate and/or retain sports-related businesses (tournaments, championships, special events and meetings) for the purpose of economic development. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes nearly 18 million visitors annually whose spending tops $3 billion. The visitor economy supports over 24,500 local jobs in Wake County and generates $287 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $601 in taxes annually. raleighsports.org
 

Media Contact:
Veronica Thring
Public Relations and International Tourism Manager
919.819.8292
vthring@visitraleigh.com

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