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North Carolina’s travel and tourism industry has jumped some hurdles during the past five years. First, the COVID pandemic brought travel and gathering restrictions, keeping people at home. Then there was Hurricane Helene in September, which caused more than $50 billion in damage across western North Carolina, keeping people from many of the places and activities that make the state special. “October is the top revenue month for our lodging partners, and the fourth quarter is the largest in terms of visitor spending,” says Explore Asheville President and CEO Vic Isley. “There would be no good time for a storm like Helene to hit, but this was just the worst time in terms of the revenue our businesses rely on to get through the winter season.”
Isley says Buncombe County and much of western North Carolina have rebounded from Helene, and recovery continues in those places hit hardest. She says the industry’s meetings and conventions sector has been a bright spot in that process. “We’ve heard from a lot of business groups that Asheville’s resilient recovery has given them a sense of purpose when choosing the Asheville area for their meeting location,” she says. Optimism and resilience may best describe the sector. Its ability to overcome challenges, whether environmental or economic, is written in its member businesses’ DNA.
Wit Tuttell is executive director of Visit North Carolina, the tourism promotion arm of Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. He senses vigilance in the meetings and convention sector, though he’s concerned about potential impacts from general economic uncertainty. “It appears people are more cautious, scheduling their travel closer to their meeting dates rather than booking further out, which is usually a sign they are guarding against the danger of having to cancel,” he says.
Visit NC chose Asheville for its annual tourism conference in 2026. “We move the conference around the state and were just in the mountains a few years ago,” Tuttell says. “But we moved next year’s conference to Asheville to demonstrate that we believe in the mountains.” This year’s conference was in Hickory. It and other midsize markets statewide, including Cabarrus and Iredell counties in the Piedmont and Wilmington on the coast, are seeing more meetings and conventions. Recent investments have helped attract that business, which in turn is fueling upgrades and welcoming more leisure and
business visitors.
Hickory Metro Convention Center was built almost 30 years ago and was expanded in 2005. It recently underwent an $18 million renovation and expansion, which added a 35,000-square-foot exhibit hall capable of hosting shows, expos and sporting events. Hickory and Conover’s occupancy tax revenue and event revenue generated by the convention center funded the project.
Hickory Metro Convention Center and Visitors Bureau CEO Mandy Pitts Hildebrand says the investment was an easy sell to the local tourism board. “We began getting feedback from our clients that the convention center was beginning to look a little tired,” she says. The upgrades are already generating a return. “We’ve gone from having around 170 events a year to over 220 conferences booked so far this year,” she says. “Our community, our local government leaders and our tourism board know that the Hickory Metro Convention Center is an economic engine, not just for Catawba County but for our region.”
Sarah Davis Jones is Hickory Metro Convention Center and Visitors Bureau’s director of sales and marketing. She says Hickory’s strong tourism economy is the result of good fortune and strategic planning. Voters passed a $40 million bond referendum in 2014. Crafting Hickory, as it became known, enabled the city to build Trivium Corporate Center, a Class A business park, give its downtown a makeover and construct Hickory Trail, a 10-mile multi-use path comprised of five walks. “These pedestrian-friendly options in our community have allowed our hospitality sector to expand outward from the middle of the city, creating connectivity with the other attractions we offer,” she says.
Raleigh Convention Center is a point of pride for the Capital City, which has become a mecca for food and culture, fostering a sense of community for residents and visitors. “We see a lot of demand when it comes to associations and other types of organizations looking for more than a place to meet, eat and sleep,” says Malinda Harrell, Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau director of sales. “They want to feel the energy, enjoy a welcoming destination and find a sense of place where they can bring their colleagues for education, networking and building relationships.”
Harrell remembers when the convention center was built in 2003 as a way of attracting conferences that were bypassing Raleigh because of its lack of space for meetings and conventions. The addition of meeting space has created an economic ecosystem. “We’ve seen job creation and new opportunities, not only for the folks working in the hotels and convention center but other places in town that benefit from conventions,” she says. It’ll do an even better job at that thanks to a 300,000-square-foot expansion that’s underway. The $387 million project includes a new Omni Park Hotel, which is scheduled to open in 2028. It will have 550 guest rooms and 55,000 square feet of meeting space.
Association Executives of North Carolina counted on unique experiences for its members when the organization held its 70th anniversary gala and annual conference at the Raleigh Convention Center in July. Founded in Raleigh in 1955, AENC provides professional development and networking opportunities for its more than 950 members, including
CEOs and staff of trade and professional associations, service providers and the
hospitality industry.
AENC Executive Director and CEO Rich Phaneuf says that while associations suffered during the pandemic’s travel restrictions, they’re making up for it today. “AENC is a microcosm of the larger meetings and conventions picture,” he says. “Not only are people going back to in-person events, but they’re also generating record attendance and are feeling that it’s good to be together.”
Phaneuf points to expansions, such as at the Raleigh and Hickory convention centers, as indicators of the tourism industry’s strength. “There’s been so much investment in our future, and we get to bask in the wonderful qualities of our state and in our economic prosperity,” he says. “There’s really never been a better time to hold meetings in North Carolina than now.” ■
— Teri Saylor is a freelance writer from Raleigh.
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