It looks likes Asheville’s tourism industry has been headed down the crapper of late, but just a little ways east, things are looking fine.
Here’s what Charlotte.com says about Cabbarus County: (WNC tourism industry, take note.)
A tough economic climate apparently has not hurt the Cabarrus County tourism scene.
In fact, local officials estimate that revenue from visitor spending should increase by nearly $200 million in the next three years, thanks in part to the opening of several more hotels and the Great Wolf Resorts indoor water park and hotel.
Tourism spending is estimated to jump from $333 million this year to $525 million in 2011, according to the Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau. That’s a 58 percent increase.
And DeSales Wagster, who runs the visitors bureau, said a trade publication recently listed the Concord-Salisbury area as the top-performing “submarket” in the nation earlier this year, topping such areas as the Florida panhandle and Midland-Odessa, Texas.
Wagster said several factors contribute to the continued tourism health. They include:
Steady growth in the market, with the addition of the hotels, the expansion of the Embassy Suites Hotel Charlotte-Concord Golf Resort and Spa and the introduction of Great Wolf. That $123 million project, which includes 409 rooms, is to open next March. It is between two of the area’s other major attractions, Concord Mills mall and Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
All of the hotels are well-known brands, which also attract customers. The total number of hotel rooms should move from 1,983 now to more than 3,000 by 2011.
The area’s attractions typically do not overlap and serve different customers.
The county is less dependent than, say, Charlotte, for tourists flying into the market. So while gas prices keep rising, their impact on airline tickets will force even more people onto the road.
Cabarrus County’s plentiful hotel rooms and ease of access from Interstate 85 make it a good location for drivers passing through, Wagster said.
As newcomers move into the area, they need a place to stay during relocation. Extended-stay hotels fill that niche.