DARE COUNTY, NC — It's no secret that the Outer Banks is a tourist destination as visitor spending numbers released by the North Carolina Department of Commerce showed that $2.1 billion had been spent in Dare County in 2023.
At Hurricane Mo’s, owner and general manager Arthur Richer said sales for lunch, dinner and happy hour were the highest ever. It’s a similar story in other parts of North Carolina.
The numbers the North Carolina Department of Commerce released were record breaking for 2023 and in Dare County the $2.1 billion tourists dollars spent ranked fourth out of the 100 counties in the state.
Watch: Dare County tourism revenues decline to start the year
With sales up $200 thousand, Richer reflected on how much it made a difference.
“Without them, we wouldn't be in business. Off-season, we do decent with our locals, they do they support us day in and day out, we definitely appreciate them. But tourists definitely make up for the lump sum of the money we make," said Richer.
Watch: North Carolina, OBX see record-breaking tourism spending in 2022
We spoke with many people visiting Kitty Hawk this week. The impact their spending has, might not be top of mind, but they're happy to support.
“I'm aware that what I give, makes someone able to live the rest of their life, raise their family, have a good community, and then I can reap that benefit by coming back to it," said Ann Craighead, who has been visiting OBX for 20 years.
Currituck County brought in more than $570 million in 2023. Dare County was only behind Buncombe, Wake and Mecklenburg Counties. You can find a full breakdown of where the money was spent in all 100 counties in North Carolina here.
