In today's world, we hear many fear messages that make you want to take shelter and hide, but that isn't the case in our press release today. Today, we will talk about how many visitors and residents are enjoying our great communities and supporting all of our tourism and hospitality businesses. We will celebrate that we rank #15 out of 100 counties in visitors spending in North Carolina.
We will appreciate that our communities are making an effort and adhering to the safety measures that our establishments have adopted to help slow down this virus that we are all living with worldwide. This is why we need to continue supporting our tourism and hospitality businesses. We would not have reached this level of excellence without them, and we need them to survive through this pandemic.
I'm hoping that by 2021, we won't have to wear a mask or stand six feet apart. I am ready to shake hands again, and I look forward to the day that we can all reminisce on how we survived one of the worst times of our lives by pulling together and supporting one another.
During 2019, visitor spending in Nash County grew to $324.50 million, which is a 5% increase over 2018. "This study was prepared for Visit North Carolina by the U.S. Travel Association."
This report also shows that Nash County ranks #15 out of 100 counties in North Carolina for visitors spending.
We appreciate all of our tourism partners and local officials for helping make us a destination not only for our travelers but also for our residents alike. This year as the global pandemic challenges us all, it gives us encouragement to look back at the vital impact tourism and the hospitality industry has in our communities, says Barbara Green, Executive Director of Nash County Travel & Tourism.
Tourism-related spending generated $16.83 million in state and $8.79 million in local tax revenues in Nash County. The impact this has for each household in Nash County is that they paid $267.86 less in state and local taxes. Nash County also employs over 3.18 thousand people that are directly tied to tourism and the hospitality industry.
Unfortunately, with us living in a world with COVID-19, our final 2020 numbers will not be as impressive as our 2019 numbers. However, we have witnessed the effort our communities have taken to help slow down the virus by wearing a mask, providing and using hand sanitizer, social distancing, avoiding large crowds, and following strict sanitizing guidelines within their establishments to help visitors and residents feel safe throughout Nash County/Rocky Mount.
For more information on the area and to view our suggested tours, please visit www.explorenashcounty.com.