Asheville tourism statistics show a large and broad community impact. Asheville recorded 13.9 million visitors in 2023, while visitor activity supported 29,148 jobs, $4.305 billion in business sales, $1.036 billion in labor income, and $476 million in government revenues. The primary 2023 tourism study defines Asheville as Buncombe County and counts visitors who stayed overnight or traveled more than 50 miles. Economic Impact of Visitors in Asheville & Buncombe County 2023
Table of contents
- Visitor volume and trip segments
- Visitor spending and sector mix
- Lodging performance and recovery
- Tourism-driven business sales
- Tourism-supported jobs
- Labor income from visitor activity
- Tourism taxes and public revenue
Visitor volume and trip segments
Asheville recorded 13.9 million visitors in 2023. That total included 8.8 million day trips and 5.1 million overnight trips. Overnight visitors represented 37% of total visitor volume. These figures describe different trip segments: a day visitor does not necessarily create the same lodging demand as someone who stays overnight, even though both are included in the visitor total.
The 2023 total was higher than the comparable figures reported for each of the preceding reference years in the study. Asheville recorded 11.9 million visitors in 2019, 9.1 million in 2020, 12.5 million in 2021, and 13.6 million in 2022.
| Measurement year | Asheville visitors |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11.9 million |
| 2020 | 9.1 million |
| 2021 | 12.5 million |
| 2022 | 13.6 million |
| 2023 | 13.9 million |
The visitor-volume pattern places 2023 above the 2019 level reported in the same source. It also shows a lower 2020 count followed by higher totals in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The figures are reported observations for their respective years, and the study’s Buncombe County geography is important when comparing them with other local datasets.
Visitor spending and sector mix
Total visitor spending in Asheville was $2.967 billion in 2023. Day visitors generated $892 million, while overnight visitors generated $2.075 billion. The overnight segment therefore accounted for the larger reported spending amount, even though it represented 37% of visitor volume.
Average visitor spending per traveler in Asheville was $216 in 2023. That average should be read alongside the source’s visitor definition and geography rather than treated as a universal spending amount for every traveler or every trip type.
The 2024 visitor-spending study reported $2.65 billion in domestic and international visitor spending in Buncombe County. Its sector figures were:
- Lodging: $784 million, down 13% from 2023.
- Food and beverage: $718 million, down 9% from 2023.
- Retail: $496 million, down 8% from 2023.
- Recreation: $329 million, down 10% from 2023.
- Transportation: $323 million, down 13% from 2023.
The 2024 source describes its study as a gauge of overall 2024 visitor-economy health, not a definitive evaluation of Hurricane Helene’s impact. The 2024 Buncombe County total and sector amounts therefore need to be kept distinct from the 2023 Asheville spending measures. 2024 Economic Impact of Visitors to Buncombe County
Lodging performance and recovery
Hotel measures provide a narrower view of tourism than total visitor volume. In 2023, Asheville hotel room demand declined 0.3%, the average daily hotel rate declined 1%, and hotel revenue declined 1.6%. These are full-year 2023 measures from the economic-impact report.
Separate lodging figures for January through June 2025 show hotel occupancy at 65% and vacation-rental occupancy at 49%. Asheville hotel demand increased 5% in the first half of 2025 compared with the first half of 2024. These first-half figures are not full-year totals.
June 2025 provides a more specific monthly comparison. Hotel occupancy was 72%, three percentage points below June 2024. Vacation-rental occupancy was 57%, six percentage points below June 2024, while vacation-rental demand fell 26% from June 2024.
| Lodging measure | Reported result | Period or comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel occupancy | 65% | January–June 2025 |
| Vacation-rental occupancy | 49% | January–June 2025 |
| Hotel demand | Up 5% | First half of 2025 vs. first half of 2024 |
| Hotel occupancy | 72% | June 2025; 3 points below June 2024 |
| Vacation-rental occupancy | 57% | June 2025; 6 points below June 2024 |
| Vacation-rental demand | Down 26% | June 2025 vs. June 2024 |
The lodging figures show why occupancy, demand, and revenue should not be treated as interchangeable measures. They also cover different periods: the 2023 hotel results are annual, while the 2025 update covers the first half of the year and a separate June snapshot. July 2025 Travel & Hospitality Community Update
Tourism-driven business sales
Visitor activity generated $2.967 billion in direct business sales in Asheville in 2023. Indirect visitor-economy effects generated $688 million, and induced effects generated $651 million. The reported total visitor-economy business sales figure was $4.305 billion.
Direct sales represent the sales associated directly with visitor activity in the reported framework. Indirect effects describe additional business activity connected to tourism-related supply chains, while induced effects reflect spending supported by tourism-related income. These categories are reported separately in the source and should not be interpreted as three independent visitor-spending totals.
The visitor economy reached across several business groups in 2023:
- Food and beverage business sales: $872 million.
- Lodging business sales: $769 million.
- Retail-trade business sales: $605 million.
- Finance, insurance, and real-estate business sales: $547 million.
- Recreation-and-entertainment business sales: $333 million.
These sector amounts are total business sales generated by visitor activity, not only the direct spending totals listed in the visitor-spending section. The distinction matters for community leadership discussions because tourism can affect businesses beyond the places where travelers make their initial purchases.
Tourism-supported jobs
Visitor activity sustained 19,862 direct jobs in Asheville in 2023. Indirect visitor-economy effects supported 4,866 jobs, and induced effects supported 4,420 jobs. Together, tourism supported 29,148 total jobs in the reported Asheville measure.
Tourism-supported employment was distributed across multiple sectors. Visitor activity supported 7,722 food-and-beverage jobs, 5,023 lodging jobs, 3,703 recreation-and-entertainment jobs, 3,503 retail-trade jobs, and 2,429 business-services jobs.
Tourism employment in Buncombe County was 5% above its 2019 level in 2023. That comparison is a county-level employment measure, while the source also presents Asheville visitor-economy impacts using the report’s Asheville definition of Buncombe County. The geography and comparison year should remain explicit when using the figure in local planning.
The job totals also illustrate the difference between direct and broader economic effects. The 19,862 direct jobs are a subset of the 29,148 total jobs; the indirect and induced figures describe additional supported employment rather than separate visitor counts.
Labor income from visitor activity
Visitor activity generated $673 million in direct labor income in Asheville in 2023. Indirect visitor-economy effects generated $179 million, and induced effects generated $184 million. Total tourism-generated labor income reached $1.036 billion.
The source reported the following total labor-income amounts by business group:
- Food and beverage: $267 million.
- Lodging: $167 million.
- Retail trade: $103 million.
- Recreation and entertainment: $97 million.
- Business services: $89 million.
Labor income is a separate economic measure from business sales. A sector can have substantial sales without the same ranking in labor income, because the two measures describe different parts of the visitor economy. The reported labor-income figures are for Asheville in 2023 and include the direct, indirect, and induced framework described by the source where a total is specified.
Tourism taxes and public revenue
Visitor spending, supported jobs, and business sales generated $476 million in total government revenues in Asheville in 2023. The reported components were $210 million in federal taxes, $146 million in state taxes, $83 million in Buncombe County taxes, and $36 million in City of Asheville taxes.
State and local visitor-generated taxes totaled $265 million. Within the reported revenue categories, visitor activity generated $153 million in sales-tax revenues and $66 million in property-tax revenues.
The study also reported a household comparison: replacing the 2023 visitor-generated state and local taxes would have required an additional $2,578 tax per Buncombe County household. This is a modeled comparison supplied by the economic-impact report, not a statement that each household paid or received that exact amount.
For community leaders, the public-revenue figures connect tourism with public finance while preserving the limits of the measurement. The $476 million total includes federal, state, county, and city government revenues, whereas the $265 million figure isolates state and local visitor-generated taxes. The two totals answer different questions and should not be combined.