Record Hospitality Tax Collections in 2024

Raleigh, N.C. (Feb. 13, 2025) – Visit Raleigh released the year-end 2024 Wake County Tourism Industry Report today. Key performance indicators (KPIs), hospitality tax collections and prepared food and beverage tax collections continued to rise in 2024 over 2023. Hotel lodging and prepared food and beverage tax collections finished with the best calendar year on record, totaling $87.45 million, up 5.7% over 2023. Hotel occupancy and room demand outperformed state and national averages throughout 2024, all demonstrating a sustained desire for overnight visitation to Wake County.

Highlights:
Continued Growth for Tax Collections

• Hotel lodging tax collections totaled more than $41 million in 2024, up 7.7% over 2023.
• Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled $44.6 million in 2024, up 4% over 2023.

Group Business Overview

• Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) hosted 425 events, tournaments, conferences and festivals in 2024, welcoming nearly 665,000 attendees to the area from these groups. (Note: This does account for all visitation throughout the county for that time period.)
• Through the end of 2024, hotel occupancy rose to 69.7% year-to-date (YTD), up 1.8% over 2023 and outpacing the state average of 62.7% and the national average of 63%.

Future Business/Tourism Outlook

• In 2024, Visit Raleigh and GRSA booked an impressive 476 events for future dates, bringing more than 300,000 room-nights of future business to Wake County and generating a projected $220.2 million in economic impact.

“The area’s labor market, high tech impacts and reputation for economic opportunity was recently amplified by Milken Institute’s ranking of Raleigh as the ‘Best-Performing Large City’ due to economic performance and growth,” said Dennis Edwards, President and CEO of Visit Raleigh. “Strategic advancements in the tourism and hospitality industry elevate our region and amplify why Wake County is a preferred destination for leisure and business travelers alike.”

Below is a full breakdown of the tourism and hospitality industry performance throughout Wake County in 2024.

Wake County hospitality industry KPIs – according to the Smith Travel Research (STR):
(January 1 – December 31, 2024)

All KPIs for the Wake County hospitality industry increased in 2024. According to STR, through the end of the year, Wake County Occupancy grew by 1.8% YTD, Average Daily Rate (ADR) rose by 4.9% YTD and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) increased by 6.8% YTD. Occupancy and room night demand continued to outpace the state and national averages.

Hospitality Industry Tax Collections in 2024:
Increased visitation to Wake County led to record-high hotel occupancy and prepared food and beverage tax collections in 2024. Hotel lodging tax collections totaled more than $41 million for 2024, a 7.7% increase over 2023. Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled more than $44 million, a 4% increase over the same period last year.

Interviews with a Visit Raleigh spokesperson can be arranged via phone, video conference or in person. To arrange an interview, please contact Jessica Holt, Director of Public Relations and International Tourism Manager, at jholt@visitraleigh.com.

About the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh):
As the official destination marketing organization for Wake County, 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 industry and community's economic position and provides opportunities for people throughout Wake County. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes 18.5 million visitors annually, whose spending tops $3.2 billion. The visitor economy supports nearly 26,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $307 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $712 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 to generate and/or retain sports-related businesses (tournaments, championships, special events and meetings) for economic development. Raleigh, N.C./Wake County welcomes 18.5 million visitors annually, whose spending tops $3.2 billion. The visitor economy supports nearly 26,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $307 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $712 in taxes annually. raleighsports.org

Media Contact:
Jessica Holt
Director of Public Relations and International Tourism
(c) 919.614.2895
jholt@visitraleigh.com

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