Last week GRCVB released its calendar year-end Wake County Tourism Industry Report, highlighting key performance indicators and hospitality tax collections that continued their upward trajectory throughout 2023. In case you missed it, we're republishing the great news here on the Tourism Talk blog...

2023 was the highest year on record for tourism tax collections:

• Hotel occupancy tax collections totaled more than $38 million through the end of 2023, up 15.6% over 2022;
• Prepared food and beverage tax collections totaled $44.6 million through the calendar year 2023, up 9.3% over 2022;
• Both hotel occupancy and prepared food and beverage tax collections for 2023 were the highest year on record; 12.13% higher than 2022.

Bookings and hotel performance were up year-over-year: 

• GRCVB and GRSA hosted 367 events, tournaments, conferences, festivals and groups in 2023, welcoming nearly 629,000 attendees to the area;
• Through the end of 2023, hotel occupancy remained steady at 68.5%, up nearly 3% over 2022 and higher than the state and national averages for the year. 

Future group bookings and tourism outlook ahead:

• Throughout 2023, GRCVB and GRSA booked 398 events for future dates, bringing nearly 299,000 room-nights of future business to Wake County and generating a projected $206.3 million in direct economic impact. 

Regarding the indicators, GRCVB president and CEO Dennis Edwards remarked: "Record hospitality tax collections, partnered with hotel occupancy outperforming state and national averages here in 2023, demonstrates the strong desirability of visiting Raleigh, N.C. Tourism has shown a resilient rebound with new restaurants, hotels and attractions regularly opening throughout the area and a record number of international flight destinations for RDU International Airport in 2024."

For a full breakdown of the tourism and hospitality industry performance throughout Wake County in 2023, see GRCVB's original press release here.