There is never a good time for a storm like Hurricane Helene to land. However, for the outdoor economy of Western North Carolina, an economic engine that serves as a cornerstone of local commerce, the timing could arguably have not been worse. Helene landed in late September 2024, just before peak traveling season in the region as the leaves change color. For the businesses and workers in the tourism industry, both of which often operate on the margins, the lost season of fall 2024 created a long road to recovery. In this report, we look at the most recent data to investigate the tourism industry of Western North Carolina, including its importance to the region, immediate impacts from Hurricane Helene, and signs of recovery. Read below for a few key findings and to see the full report.
Visitor Spending Declines for Two Consecutive Years
According to the most recent visitor spending data, visitor spending in the 16 most-impacted counties declined over $300 million. Most of these declines were from 2023 to 2024, but there was also a small decline from 2024 to 2025 Thankfully, the declines slowed greatly in 2025, suggesting the region was able to minimize losses to visitor spending, a positive sign for future recovery of the industry.
Visitor spending in Western North Carolina supports thousands of jobs. In 2023, the 16 most-impacted counties had nearly 37,000 jobs supported by visitor spending. As visitor spending declined, as did employment supported by that spending. In 2025, the region had lost over 2,000 jobs supported by visitor spending, down to 34,442 jobs supported (the fewest since 2020). While spending losses were minimized, employment has not yet rebounded.
Greatest Declines Found in Buncombe County
By far the greatest declines in visitor spending and supported employment were in Buncombe County, home to Asheville and the main economic driver of the outdoor economy (and the overall economy) of Western North Carolina. The most severe destruction caused by Hurricane Helene was concentrated in Buncombe County, therefore it is not surprising to find losses were greatest there. However, a full recovery of the region will rely on a full recovery of Buncombe County, which continues to be a magnet for visitors to the region despite the losses of the previous two years.
While some of the main findings show the tourism industry was severely impacted by Helene, a full accounting of data highlights a region that is working towards a recovery. Losses have been smaller than one might expect, visitor interest in Western North Carolina is returning, and several tourism-related industries are seeing improvements. The outdoor economy, and the region, is moving in the right direction. Read the full report below to learn more about this recovery.
This is the third, and final, report in our research series on Helene recovery. The first report was on the labor force and unemployment, and the second report was on housing recovery.