Wake County’s hospitality and tourism sectors kick off the year with a strong first quarter

Raleigh, N.C. (May 19, 2022) – Visit Raleigh has released the Wake County Tourism Industry Report for the first quarter of 2022. All key performance indicators and tax collections for the hospitality industry in Wake County are up year-to-date (YTD) over 2021. Most notably, Wake County occupancy is outpaced the state and national averages for Q1 2022, and hotel occupancy tax collections are up more than 81% YTD over 2021. Another positive sign is that the revenue per available room (RevPAR) also increased by nearly 80% YTD.

Highlights:
Upward Trend on Tax Collections

• Hotel lodging tax collections totaled $6.6 million through March 2022, up 81.4% over 2021.
• Prepared food and beverage (PFB) tax collections totaled more than $9 million through March 2022, up 27.4% over 2021.

Group Business Overview

• Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) hosted 63 events in the first quarter of 2022, welcoming nearly 74,000 attendees to the area.
• Through the end of March, hotel occupancy rose to 59.1% YTD, up 33.7% over 2021.

Future Business/Tourism Outlook

• Visit Raleigh and GRSA were able to book 87 events for future dates, bringing an estimated 34,514 room-nights of future business to Wake County and generating a projected $19.7 million in economic impact.

“The first quarter of 2022 demonstrates a strong demand in Wake County’s travel economy this year,” said Dennis Edwards, President and CEO of Visit Raleigh. “Hotels are capitalizing on the return of both leisure and business travel to yield higher rates and revenues for their rooms, approaching closer to pre-pandemic levels, which is necessary for our area’s economic recovery.”

Below is a full breakdown of the tourism and hospitality industry performance throughout Wake County in the first quarter of 2022.

Wake County hospitality industry KPIs – according to the Smith Travel Research:
(January 1 – March 31, 2022)

All key performance indicators for the hospitality industry continue their strong comeback through Q1 2022. According to STR in the first quarter of 2022, occupancy rose by more than 33% YTD, average daily rate (ADR) rose over 34% YTD and revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased more than 79% YTD.

Hospitality Industry Tax Collections in Q1 2022:
As a result of increases visitation in the first quarter of 2022, YTD through March 31, both hotel occupancy and prepared food and beverage tax collections increased. Hotel lodging tax collections totaled more than $6.6 million, up 81% YTD. Prepared food and beverage (PFB) tax collections totaled more than $9 million, up more than 27% YTD over 2021.

Events Hosted in Q1 2022:
During the first quarter of 2022, Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) together hosted 63 conventions, sporting events and groups and welcomed nearly 74,000 attendees to Raleigh, N.C. The quarter was highlighted by key conventions, sporting events and groups impacting overnight visitation including:

• Triangle Volleyball Club City of Oaks Challenge: 10,000 attendees
• American Choral Directors Association – Southern Region Conference: 2,000 attendees
• Intercompany Long Term Care Insurance Conference: 750 attendees
• Mid-Atlantic Power League Tournament: 7,762 attendees
• Pendo Company Kick Off: 600 attendees

New Business Booked in Q1 2022:
The first quarter was extremely productive in booking future conventions, sporting events and groups in Wake County as Visit Raleigh and GRSA combined booked 87 groups totaling more than 34,000 room-nights of future business. Visit Raleigh and GRSA’s collective future bookings from this quarter will create a direct economic impact of $19.7 million.

Future meetings, conventions and sporting events booked during the first quarter include:

• 2022 USA Baseball National Team Identification Series Champions Cup: Aug. 10-14, Aug. 17-21, Aug. 24-28; 3,150 combined attendees
• 2022 USA Baseball National Team Championships – North Carolina: June 14-17, June 18-20, June 21-25, July 7-11, July 12-16; 5,000 combined attendees
• Facing Race: Nov. 8-16, 2026; 2,500 attendees
• 2022 USA Baseball PDP League: June 29-July 6; 850 attendees
• QuiltCON: Feb. 19-25, 2024; 8,000 attendees

Interviews with a Visit Raleigh spokesperson can be arranged via phone, video conference or in person. To arrange an interview, please contact Director of Public Relations Jessica Holt at jholt@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 provide opportunity for people throughout Wake County. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes nearly 13 million visitors annually whose spending tops $1.7 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 17,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $186 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $470 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 13 million visitors annually whose spending tops $1.7 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 17,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $186 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $470 in taxes annually. raleighsports.org

Media Contact:
Jessica Holt
Director of Public Relations
919.645.2654
jholt@visitRaleigh.com

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