From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C.  — Explore Asheville invested $361,400 to join in a partnership with Oprah Daily that brought Gayle King and Adam Glassman to Asheville to — in the words of Ashley Greenstein — show that our creative community is open for business,” according to a July 29 Answer Man column on the website Asheville Watchdog. 

(Greenstein is a spokeswoman for the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, the organization over Explore Asheville.  Explore Asheville’s funding is primarily from an occupancy tax. John Boyle writes the Answer Man column.)

Regarding the deal, AI Overview added: “The campaign aimed to showcase Asheville’s ‘hidden charms’ and promote tourism. The partnership involved a visit from King and Glassman, who explored various aspects of the city, including the art scene, food scene, and the Biltmore Estate....”

Greenstein was quoted by Asheville Watchdog as saying that “in just a week, it’s already delivered more than 6 million impressions and counting, shining a light on places like the North Asheville Tailgate Market, Biltmore, North Carolina Arboretum, Grove Arcade, a tour of other downtown businesses, and the Omni Grove Park Inn.”

Regarding the $361,400 investment, Boyle wrote in his Answer Man column, “This seems like a lot of money, but keep in mind this is what the TDA and Explore Asheville do, and are actually required by state law to do — spend money to draw visitors here. 

“The organization has to spend two-thirds of its revenue on marketing and promotions, and one-third on local projects that can boost tourism and benefit locals.

“As I’ve noted before, that used to be a 75 percent/25 percent split, but the General Assembly tweaked the formula in 2022, in part because of complaints from locals about the amount of money spent promoting the area versus contributing to infrastructure and local attractions.

“Since Helene struck our area hard last September, tourism has been hurting. The typically robust fall leaf and holiday seasons were pretty much busts, and the weak performance has lingered this year.

“‘In the wake of Helene, economic recovery for area business and resident livelihoods has been hampered by a lack of awareness that western North Carolina is open for guests and further exacerbated by economic uncertainty nationally,’ the TDA noted in its agenda documents for its July 23 meeting.

“The report also noted that June 2025 hotel occupancy was down 3 points from 2024 and down 10 points from 2019 (the benchmark year before the COVID-19 pandemic). Vacation rentals also took a beating, down 6 points in June 2025 from 2024 and down 4 points from 2019.

“For the first half of this year, hotel demand was up 5 percent compared to the first half 2024, but  supply remained fairly flat. 

“The TDA also noted that, ‘Hotel performance through the first half of the year was obscured by demand created by FEMA Transitional Sheltering Assistance voucher program to support displaced residents,’” Boyle wrote.