From Staff Reports 

While 2019 “was a banner year for Asheville-Buncombe County visitor spending,” there was a major plunge during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but the area “made a remarkable recovery, in 2021 with an 80 percent increase (in visitor spending),” according to Vic Isley, chief executive officer of Explore Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

 Isley provided an update on the Asheville-Buncombe tourism during the Aug. 5 meeting of the Asheville-based Council of Independent Business Owners at UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center.

Among the items Isley was asked by CIBO to address were the following questions::

• What is the state of the tourism economy?

• What’s next for the industry?

• What does the recent legislative change to the tourism tax mean?

Isley began her talk, which followed that of the program’s other speaker, state Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Morganton, by noting that “everyone that is in this room is here because they care about this place (Asheville and Bumcombe County).

“I was asked to give you a review of what’s happening in this community.”

Besides the overall skyrocketing of visitor sales in 2021, Isley said the year also produced the following results:

• Lodging ranked as 31 percent of visitor spending.

• Food and beverage ranked at 26 percent of visitor spending.

• Retail ranked as 19 percent of visitor spending.

• Recreation and entertainment ranked as 12 percent of visitor spending.

• Transport ranked as 11 percent of visitor spending.

In addition, Isley told CIBO, “70 percent of our lodging owners actually live in Buncombe County”

She also noted that surveys show that “this community is obsessed with sidewalks and hotel rooms.”

As for the latter, Isley said, “We’re just under 9,000 hotel rooms in Asheville-Buncombe County.”

She then added, “Savannah (Ga.) and Charleston and Myrtle Beach (both in South Carolina) — all three of whom we (Asheville-Buncombe) are compared to a lot —  top us” in hotel rooms.

What’s more, Isley said, “We are (now) seeing some slowing of the market, with June lodging occupancy numbers — the latest numbers we have...

“Vacation rentals are down in June 2022 from June 2021....”

As for Explore Asheville, Isley said, “one of the strategic themes for our community on tourism” is to “deliver a balanced recovery and sustained growth — to balance resident and visitor needs

“To that end, we have the 2022 TPDF fund cycle open,” she noted.

What’s more, Isley said that the Asheville Business Events Council, with 18 community leaders participating and convening three times annually, is focusing on the following goals:

• Encourage safe and responsible travel by visitors

• Engage and invite more diverse audiences (including inviting black travelers) among visitors

• Promote and support Asheville’s creative spirit by visitors

She reiterated that the Asheville-Buncombe area is engaged in tough competition, “especially with Charleston, South Carolina, but we’re also in a big battle with Savannah (Ga.) and Myrtle Beach (S.C.).

During a question-and-answer session following her address, an unidentified man asked Isley about her “long-term view on hotels” in the Asheville-Buncombe area.

“If you went by the hotel rooms by market, we still have opportunity” to grow, Isley responded. “So we’ll have about 600 new (hotel) rooms coming on (the market for visitor rentals) between now and next summer.”

She added, “Where we’re startiong to see some of the softening of that market is from the middle to lower tier. So there’s room in the market” in the higher tier, especially.

CIBO member Mac Swicegood asked, “Do you have any mechnism to measure who’s coming — and from where?”

“All of that data is open (to everyone) on Google.com,” Isley answered.

An unidentified man told Isley, “I’ve noticed that the proposed Buncombe County budget includes $38 million for open space. 

It seems to dovetail very nicely” with tourism plans.

To that assertion, Isley said, “The tourism development fund has been used for various local greenway projects ... Eco-recreation destinations….

“So there’s been signifcant investment in the $40 million invested to date on outdoor ‘rec’ (recreation) projects.”

At that point, Isley noted that, beside the stiff competition from Charleston, Savannah and Myrtle Beach for visitors, the Asheville-Buncombe County area is operating at a disadvantage with some of its other competitions.

Specifically, she said that, also “topping Asheville-Buncombe County in hotel rooms are Greenville, South Carolina (with 10,795 rooms), Chatanooga, Tennessee (with 11,546 rooms) and Gatlingburg/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (with 17,863 rooms).”

An unidentified woman then asked, “What are you hearing from tourists about Asheville?”

Isley said the views of visitors contrast starkly with concerns of area residents’ concerns expressed in surveys about sidewalks.

“So, no, visitors are not obsessed with sidewalks,” she noted, prompting laughter from some in the CIBO audience.

“We hear very positive comments” from visitors,” Isley continued. “We do have some challenges right now — cleanliness and public safety.”

An unidentified man queried, “What is the TDA (Tourism Development Authority) doing about that?”

“We’re in conversations with city and county officials, as well as the chamber and the downtown group, because it  (cleanliness and public safety) is a community issue,” Isley said in concluding the Q&A session.