Guilford County ranks fifth in state for visitor spending

Visitor dollars kept flowing into Guilford County last year, lifting spending to $1.682 billion and placing the county fifth in North Carolina. Tourism leaders say that money is showing up far beyond hotel rooms, with more traffic for restaurants, entertainment venues, transportation companies and the public budgets that collect the taxes visitors leave behind.

The county’s total rose from $1.547 billion in 2022 and was nearly double the $849.5 million recorded in 2020, a sign that the local visitor economy has not just recovered but kept expanding. Across the Piedmont Triad, visitor spending climbed from $3.655 billion in 2022 to $3.920 billion in 2023, making Guilford the region’s top county for tourism spending. Visit High Point President Melody Burnett said the county is casting a very large net to attract attention, a description that fits a market built on festivals, conventions and recurring events rather than one marquee attraction.

The breadth of the numbers matters. Greensboro’s arts and culture sector generated $235.3 million in economic activity in 2022 and supported 3,629 jobs, while 39.7% of arts attendees came from outside Guilford County. That means local museums, performance spaces and nonprofit arts groups are drawing outside spending into the city, not just circulating money already here. Sports tourism is adding another layer. Greensboro was named Team Base Camp city for Norway ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, and city officials estimate that selection could bring about $4.2 million to the local economy.

The broader state picture shows the same momentum. North Carolina’s visitor spending reached a record $35.631 billion in 2023, then rose again to $36.7 billion in preliminary 2024 county data, with spending up in 71 of the state’s 100 counties. In that context, Guilford County’s $2.099 billion in 2024 visitor expenditures suggests the local tourism base remained strong even as competition among destinations tightened.

For Guilford County, the real question is not whether tourism matters. It is where the money is landing, which venues and events are driving the growth, and whether Greensboro and High Point can keep turning visitor traffic into steady jobs and tax revenue without relying too heavily on a few big draws.