CHARLOTTE, N.C. — New data shared during a Charlotte City Council meeting shows tourism in Charlotte is booming.
The Transportation, Planning & Development Committee went over the data at its April 1 meeting, learning the tourism industry has helped bring in over $7 billion to the area in 2022. Nearly 31 million visitors came to the region in the last year and 13.5 million of those visitors stayed overnight, according to city data.
A lot of the traffic was fueled by big sporting events and major venues. The 10 days with the highest number of visits to Uptown Charlotte in January and February of 2024 were mostly tied to sports and tourism venues, city leaders said.
Additionally, Charlotte city leaders said one out of every nine Charlotte residents works in the tourism and hospitality industry, making it the fourth largest industry sector in the city.
All of this is great news for Uptown Charlotte, which struggled with a drop in foot traffic during the pandemic. City leaders believe the tourism and hospitality industry has made a major difference as the Queen City bounces back.
The number of visits to Uptown in the first quarter of the year has increased by 107% over the past three years.
City leaders are now looking to push continued investments in events and venues to keep the momentum going.