Wake County seeing record numbers of visitors

Wake County has reached record numbers last year in tourism, said the bureau. Over 16 million visitors came to Wake County in 2017 -- an increase of 5.3 percent since the previous year.

Those coming to visit Raleigh and all it has to offer brought in $2.5 billion locally, a record figure from last year, according to the bureau. In state and local taxes, visitors generated more than $250 million, saving each Wake County household 671 dollars.

Tourism helps those living in the Triangle have lower taxes, the bureau said. The tourism-generated tax receipts are used for education, school construction, water, sewer and other amenities for residents. The bureau said if these tax revenues were not generated by tourists, then locals taxes would likely have to increase.

Not only do visitors help keep taxes down and bring in revenue, tourism continues to be one of the largest employment sections in Wake County, according to research done by the bureau.

Over 26,000 full-time jobs are supported through tourism with a total payroll of over $739 million. 800 tourism jobs have been added since 2009 in Wake County.

“The latest data demonstrates that Wake County continues to be a premier tourism destination for meetings, sporting events and leisure visitation in the Southeast and that tourism plays an important role in impacting the economy county-wide,” said Dennis Edwards, president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh).