Visitors to North Carolina spent a record $17 billion in 2010, an increase of 9 percent from $15.6 billion in 2009, according to the office of Gov. Bev Perdue.
The total was higher than the previous record of $16.8 billion set in 2008.
The Tar Heel State was the sixth-most-visited in the nation, with 36.8 million tourists. Visitor spending generated more than $947 million in state tax revenue last year, a 12.6 percent increase over 2009.
The travel and tourism industry directly employs 185,500 North Carolinians, up 1 percent from 2009.
"North Carolina's natural and cultural treasures bring people and dollars into our state," Perdue says. "It's a consistently growing part of our economy. Visitors and vacationers spend money that helps local economies thrive and creates jobs here in North Carolina, which is my No. 1 priority."
More than 40,000 businesses in North Carolina directly provide products and services to travelers. Those visitors spend more than $46.6 million per day in the state and contribute $4.1 million per day in state and local tax revenue as a result of that spending, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Read more: N.C. tourism has $17B impact | Charlotte Business Journal
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