NC Tourism Hits Record $37.2 Billion in 2025
05.07.2026 | Office of Governor Josh Stein Raleigh Today Governor Josh Stein announced that North Carolina set a record for tourist spending in 2025, with travelers spending more than $37.2 billion on trips to and within the state, surpassing the previous record of $36.7 billion set in 2024. “North Carolina remains a great place to…
Lake Lure will reopen more than 500 days after Helene
04.18.2026 | WFMY LAKE LURE, N.C. — 570 days after Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, a popular tourist spot will reopen! Lake Lure is launching a “soft opening” on Monday, April 20. The lake was closed since the storm so crews could clean up debris and make sure the area is safe. “We are forever grateful to…
New North Carolina ballpark is unlike any other baseball stadium in the U.S.
The new baseball stadium in Wilson will be unlike any other professional ballpark in the country. Kentucky real estate group Bryant Corp., working with NSV Development of Durham, is building a 116-room hotel that’s integrated into the Wilson Warbirds’ stadium downtown. The Warbirds, Wilson’s new Minor League team and an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, play their…
Outer Banks luxury rental market shows economic divide
Every January, reservations start pouring in for summer vacations on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The Outer Banks has roughly 10,000 rental homes, ranging from modest accommodations to massive homes with 10 bedrooms or more in places such as Duck. In January, Lee Nettles, the executive director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, starts to see the…
NC Lighthouse Challenge part of the US’ 250th celebration
Currituck County’s America 250 NC Task Force has launched a yearlong challenge to visit 10 of North Carolina’s lighthouses as part of the country’s celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Called the NC Lighthouse Challenge, participants must visit the 10 sites and submit their photos with the lighthouse visible to nc.lighthouse.visit@gmail.com by…
Audit: Choosing Tito’s as easy as ABC
NC Center Square | 03/26/2026 For North Carolinians at the liquor store, Tito’s Handmade Vodka is the overwhelming choice ahead of a 100% blue Weber agave tequila from Mexico. Thursday’s audit release from first-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek’s office analyzed vendor performance requirements for the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Five contractually required key…
Asheville Regional Airport gets $2.5 million for airfield construction
Asheville Citizen Times | 02.23.2026 The Asheville Regional Airport received substantial new funding for infrastructure when U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards presented a $2.5 million check during a Feb. 20 visit, according to his office. The airport plans to use the money to build a new taxiway, which planes use to move between runways, hangars and other…
Tax on tourists paying for police reaches state court
Center Square | 02.18.2026 Currituck County in northeastern North Carolina says a 2004 amendment contains language that allows the county commissioners to use their judgment in deciding what uses of the tax on tourist’s lodging and property taxes are related to tourism. Whether the commission can use that revenue to pay for police officers is…
Omni breaks ground on $360M Downtown Raleigh hotel with 600 rooms
Triangle Business Journal | 02.13.2026 Fencing is up and site work has begun on the upcoming Omni Hotel in Downtown Raleigh. Omni Hotels & Resorts of Dallas will officially break ground this month on its 600-room, 29-story hotel and is targeting opening toward the end of 2028. The site at 10 W. South St. (formerly parking lots)…