Tourism and hospitality KPIs for Wake County start strong in 2023

Raleigh, N.C. (May 15, 2023) – Visit Raleigh has released the Wake County Tourism Industry Report for the first quarter of 2023. Key performance indicators (KPIs), hospitality tax collections and prepared food and beverage tax collections are up year-to-date (YTD) over 2022. Hotel occupancy outpaced the state and national average, showing strong demand for conventions, sports and leisure travel in Wake County. Leisure travel, sporting events such as the NHL Stadium Series, tournaments and conferences substantially influenced the travel economy in the first quarter of 2023.

Highlights:
Continued Growth for Tax Collections

• Hotel lodging tax collections totaled nearly $9 million through March 2023, up 36.6% over 2022.
• Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled $10.7 million through March 2023, up 16.9% over 2022.

Group Business Overview

• Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) hosted 82 events, tournaments, conferences and groups through March 2023, welcoming more than 200,000 attendees to the area.
• Through the end of March, hotel occupancy rose to 65.8% year-to-date (YTD), up 12.2% over 2022, and higher than the state and national averages for the same time period.

Future Business/Tourism Outlook

• Through March 2023, Visit Raleigh and GRSA booked 111 events for future dates, bringing more than 62,770 room-nights of future business to Wake County and generating a projected $42.1 million in economic impact.

“The first quarter of 2023 brought word-class events to Raleigh including the NHL Stadium Series in February,” said Dennis Edwards, President and CEO of Visit Raleigh. “The hospitality industry is reaping the benefits of Wake County’s booming tourism economy, and it is clear that the demand for both leisure and group travel to Raleigh is back.”

Below is a full breakdown of the tourism and hospitality industry performance throughout Wake County in the first quarter of 2023.

Wake County hospitality industry KPIs – according to the Smith Travel Research:
(January 1 – March 31, 2023)

Most KPIs for the hospitality industry have consistently increased through the start of 2023. According to STR through the first quarter, Occupancy rose by more than 12% YTD, Average Daily Rate (ADR) increased by 16% YTD and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) increased more than 30% YTD.

Hospitality Industry Tax Collections in Q1 2023:
Major events drove increased visitation in the first quarter of 2023, leading to large hotel occupancy and prepared food and beverage tax collections increases over the same quarter of 2022. Hotel lodging tax collections totaled nearly $9 million, a 36.6% increase over 2022. Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled $10.7 million, a nearly 17% increase over the first quarter of 2022.

Events Hosted in Q1 2023:
During the first quarter of 2023, Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) together hosted 82 conventions, sporting events and groups and welcomed more than 202,559 attendees to Raleigh, N.C. The first quarter of 2023 was highlighted by key conventions, meetings and sporting events impacting overnight visitation including:

• NHL Stadium Series: 57,000 attendees
• Triangle Volleyball Club City of Oaks Challenge: 10,000 attendees
• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority MidAtlantic Regional Meeting: 5,200 attendees
• Brightly Software Illuminate 2023: 1,000 attendees
• USA Baseball National High School Invitational: 1,500 attendees

New Business Booked in Q1 2023:
The first quarter of 2023 was productive in bookings for future conventions, sporting events and groups in Wake County as Visit Raleigh and GRSA combined booked 111 groups totaling more than 62,770 room-nights of future business. Visit Raleigh and GRSA’s collective future bookings from this quarter will create a direct economic impact of $42.1 million.

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

• Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting: July 14-17, 2025; 1,300 attendees
• Council of State Governments National Conference: Dec. 6-9; 600 attendees
• The Soccer Tournament: June 1-4; 5,000 attendees
• African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Winter Meeting: Dec. 27-29; 2,000 attendees
• NCAA DII Baseball Championships: June 3-10; 1,500 attendees

Interviews with a Visit Raleigh spokesperson can be arranged via phone, video conference or in person. To arrange an interview, please contact the Director of Public Relations and International Tourism, 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 provides opportunity for people throughout Wake County. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes nearly 16 million visitors annually whose spending tops $2.3 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 21,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $243 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $592 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 16 million visitors annually whose spending tops $2.3 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 21,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $243 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $592 in taxes annually. raleighsports.org

Media Contact:
Jessica Holt
Director of Public Relations and International Tourism
919.645.2654
jholt@visitraleigh.com

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