2006 Record Tourism Revenues For Moore County

SOUTHERN PINES, NC – AUGUST 1, 2007 – Establishing a new record, visitors spent $246.2 million in Moore County last year on domestic leisure and business travel such as golf green fees, hotel stays, restaurants and retail purchases.  The total represented a 6.2% increase over the 2005 total, based on the results from the Travel Industry Association (TIA) study titled “The 2006 Economic Impact of Travel on NC Counties.”

Collectively, the 100 North Carolina counties saw tourism top the $15 billion mark for the first time ($15.4), and North Carolina holds the sixth position in the U.S. in total visits with over 50 million.  State employment for the tourism sector included a modest gain of 1.0% and stood at 187,200, while the total state and local tax receipts attributed to tourism were $1.29 billion.

Moore County’s tourism spending total placed it 11th out of 100 counties, and gives it the distinction of having one of the highest county tourism spending totals per capita in the state.  Considering that the county’s state population position (23rd among 100 counties), it is only one of a handful of counties that can claim a double digit tourism revenue position advantage (#11 revenues vs #23 population).  Direct employment for Moore County from the tourism sector totaled 5,450 (#8 in state ranking) for the year, while state and local taxes generated from visitors topped $29.3 million (#10 in state ranking).

“There is a real appreciation for what tourism brings to the table every day here – from direct economic benefits to improved quality of life.  While we enjoy economic diversity in our County, it is still the tourism sector that is the primary driver, and thus is supported and monitored closely by both the public and private sectors alike.” states Caleb Miles, President & CEO of the Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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The Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is an economic development organization and non-profit authority of Moore County, North Carolina. The CVB mission is to promote the area as a destination for visitors, meetings, conventions and tours. The CVB is funded primarily by a three percent hotel / motel room occupancy tax paid by visitors to Moore County.