Expanded Flight Connectivity and Growing Hospitality Tax Collections Leverage Steady Third Quarter

Raleigh, N.C. (Nov. 19, 2025) – Visit Raleigh has released the Wake County Tourism Industry Report for the third quarter of 2025. With corporate travel starting to rebound and leisure travel remaining stable in the U.S., most of Raleigh’s key performance indicators (KPIs), including hospitality tax collections and hotel room supply, have stayed steady. Hotel occupancy continues to outpace state and national averages.

Highlights:
Continued Growth for Tax Collections

  • Hotel lodging tax collections totaled over $31 million through September 2025, up 1.5% over 2024.
  • Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled more than $36 million through September 2025, up 5.6% over 2024.

Group Business Overview

  • Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) hosted 96 conventions, sporting events and groups in the third quarter of 2025, welcoming over 103,000 attendees to the area.
  • Through the end of September, hotel occupancy declined to 67.8%, but still outpacing the state and national averages.

Future Business/Tourism Outlook

  • In the third quarter of 2025, Visit Raleigh and GRSA booked 111 events for future dates, bringing more than 94,000 room-nights of future business to Wake County and generating a direct economic impact of over $71 million.

“While destinations across the country are facing slowing travel trends and cutting flights, Raleigh continues to garner new flights, including the September announcement of a new direct Aer Lingus route from Dublin starting in April 2026,” said Dennis Edwards, President and CEO of Visit Raleigh. “Sustained growth in the local travel market underscores the vitality of our destination and the continued success of our efforts to attract diverse sporting events, meetings, conventions and visitors to our region.”

Below is a full breakdown of the tourism and hospitality industry performance throughout Wake County in the third quarter of 2025.

Wake County hospitality industry KPIs – according to the Smith Travel Research:
(January 1 – September 30, 2025)

KPI

Wake County
YTD

Wake County
% Change YTD

State Average
YTD

National Average YTD

Hotel Occupancy

67.8%

↓ 3.5%

62.3%

63.4%

Average Daily Rate (ADR)

$137.41

↑ 2.3%

$128.94

$160.48

Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)

$93.10

↓ 1.3%

$80.37

$101.79

Hotel Room Night Supply

5.11 M

↑ 2.0%

↑ 1.1%

↑ 0.7%

Room Nights Sold

3.47 M

↓ 1.6%

↑ 0.7%

↓ 0.2%
 

Wake County hotels’ average daily rate has increased by 2.3% over the first three quarters of 2025. The County’s occupancy rate continues to outpace that of the state and national averages, despite a 3.5% decrease compared to this time last year. The county has experienced a 2% increase in hotel supply while rooms nights sold are down 1.6%.

Hospitality Industry Tax Collections in Q3 2025:
Wake County saw consistent increases in hospitality industry tax collections in the third quarter of 2025. Hotel lodging tax collections totaled over $31 million, a 1.5% increase over 2024. Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled more than $36 million, a 5.6% increase over the first three quarters of 2025.

Tax Collections
(Jan. – Sept.)

Wake County
(2025)

Wake County
(2024)

Amt. Change

% Change

Hotel Occupancy

$31,123,305

$30,656,316

↑ 466.9 K

↑ 1.5%

Prepared Food and
Beverage

$36,370,902

$34,444,663

↑ $1.9M

↑ 5.6%

Events Hosted in Q3 2025:
During the third quarter of 2025, Visit Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) together hosted 96 conventions, sporting events and groups and welcomed over 103,000 attendees to Raleigh, N.C. The third quarter of 2025 was highlighted by key conventions, meetings and sporting events impacting overnight visitation including:

New Business Booked in Q3 2025:
The third quarter of 2025 produced promising bookings for future conventions, sporting events and groups in Wake County as Visit Raleigh and GRSA combined booked 111 groups totaling over 94,000 room-nights of future business. Visit Raleigh and GRSA’s collective future bookings from this quarter will create a direct economic impact of $71 million.

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

Interviews with a Visit Raleigh spokesperson can be arranged via phone, video conference or in person. To arrange an interview, please contact the Public Relations and International Tourism Manager Hannah Hankins at hhankins@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 19 million visitors annually, whose spending tops $3.4 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 26,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $321 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $720 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 19 million visitors annually, whose spending tops $3.4 billion. The visitor economy supports more than 26,000 local jobs in Wake County and generates $321 million in state and local tax revenues, saving each Wake County household $720 in taxes annually. raleighsports.org

Media Contact:
Hannah Hankins
Public Relations and International Tourism Manager
hhankins@visitraleigh.com
919.645.2676

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