As tourism season gets hot, Western NC hopes it won’t be a cruel summer

Carolina Public Press | 05/12/2025

Summer tourism in Western North Carolina — hiking, fishing, driving up scenic mountain roads — is a perfect respite for many from the hot southern season. 

But those idyllic mountain scenes are competing in the public’s mind with images of Tropical Storm Helene’s aftermath: death, devastation and destruction.

And for an area that is dependent on tourism, there’s a fear that this perception will keep people away during the valuable summer months. 

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The official line is that the mountains are fully open to visitors. Some outside the region, though, believe it is still a disaster zone. 

The truth is that recovery varies wildly from place to place, and any visit this summer will require an open mind as well as an open wallet.

Doing the math

Before Helene, 11.5 million visited the mountains each year, bringing $7.7 billion to the local economy. That’s more visitors than even the North Carolina coast receives. Tourists support 29,000 jobs in Buncombe County alone.

Gov. Josh Stein announced last week that tourists visiting North Carolina spent more money in 2024 than ever before in state history. But not so in the mountains.

Though not all visitor spending has disappeared, it is way down. 

A less-than-average summer season could be more trouble for businesses still dealing with COVID-era debt. They need a bustling summer to balance their books.

Of late, there are rumblings that the famous Blue Ridge Parkway — already only open in patches — will be closed from Blowing Rock to Grandfather Mountain from early July through the fall for scheduled maintenance. This would be a serious setback for businesses all through the High Country, which rely on tourist traffic from the parkway to fill restaurant tables and gift shops. 

“The Blue Ridge Parkway is a financial lifeline that connects us all,” said David Jackson, president of the Boone Chamber of Commerce. “There is still a lot of confusion about what is going on, but we know it will be interrupted with major reconstruction.”

The parkway isn’t the only attraction facing challenges.

Helene washed out rivers in the region with an almost supernatural force. Rafting and fishing companies on the Nolichucky and Pigeon rivers are basically out of business for the time being. 

Other rivers fared better, like the Natanhala or parts of the French Broad. But even businesses on those rivers will be operating with caution.

“For a number of our outdoor-related businesses, this summer will mark their first trip down the river, the first trip out to their fishing hole, since the storm,” Jackson said. “That’s going to bring up some difficult memories, but it’s also going to be an important part of the process of moving forward. Be mindful of the fact that these people have worn their knuckles ragged trying to build this place back again.”

But Candice Cook, marketing director of the tourism organization High Country Host, says that the deluge of water from Helene actually did some rivers a favor, washing out pollution and silt.

“The water has been crystal clear,” she said. “I’ve never caught as many fish as I have this spring. It’s been pretty amazing.”

Tour-based businesses, like Asheville Wellness Tours or Blue Ridge Hiking Company, took an extreme hit. Though tourism officials are quick to point out that hotel occupancy and airplane traffic are back to normal, those metrics are being offset by a decline in car traffic to the region and Airbnb occupancy. 

“We are doing about 30% of the business we did before the storm, which is really stressful,” said Nicole Will, founder of Asheville Wellness Tours, which hosts yoga retreats, forest baths and tarot-card readings. “It’s very Asheville,” Will said.

But paradoxically, taking a tour could be the key to navigating the complex patchwork of recovery in the mountains this summer.

“If you’ve never taken a guided tour, really consider doing that now more than ever,” Will continued. “Because the local people who guide those tours are going to be able to offer some insights into the local experience, the local sentiment. You’ll just be more connected in an intentional way if you’re building a relationship with someone who lived through the storm and is eager to share what they love about Asheville.”

Summer tourism and being ‘realistic’

Hope.

That’s the key word for some tourism businesses.

Only time will tell if that’s enough.

“A lot of folks have a lot of hope that things will start to return to normal this summer,” said Fabrice Julien, a health sciences professor at UNC-Asheville. “Summer tourism could bring a lot of revenue to our mountain economies and in doing so, bring back seasonal jobs and tax revenue. I think it is important to be realistic. A lot of people may not come.

“We have thousands of miles of roads and bridges destroyed. The places people love, those places might not be around anymore. Are we rushing the recovery, rushing a return to business-as-usual? A lot of folks will be disappointed in me for saying that, but that’s just the realist in me, the cynic.”

Still, tourism workers are doing their best to navigate uncharted waters.

“We have a saying in the raft,” said Woody Woodruff, a guide at Wildwater Adventure Center in Nantahala. “When we want the raft to go forward, we say ‘all forward.’ That’s been the mantra in this business: just all forward. 

“The best we can do right now is look out the front windshield and hope for the best.”