Tourists at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, one of the most visited parks in the country. Photo: George Rose/Getty Images
Travelers spent a record $33.3 billion visiting North Carolina last year.
Driving the news: 2022's spending levels bested the previous record of $29.2 billion set in 2019.
- The number of jobs supported by the tourism industry grew 9.8% to 216,900 jobs in 2022, according to an analysis by the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.
State of play: North Carolina tourism has benefited from a growing desire to go outside as well as an easement of restrictions from COVID-19.
- International visitations, for one, grew significantly last year, with spending by foreign visitors up 190% year over year.
Zoom in: North Carolina's parks have been one major source for tourism.
- State parks drew in a record number of visitors in 2021 and its national parks brought in the second most tourism spending of any state.
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