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The greater Raleigh area and Wake County saw yet another year of record tourism in 2025
Visit Raleigh released the numbers on Thursday, saying a record-breaking 19.1 million people visited Wake County in 2025. That’s about a half-percent increase from 2024.
The millions of visitors translated into billions of dollars for spending in the community. Visit Raleigh said people from outside the area spent a record-breaking $3.43 billion in the community last year, which is about 2.3% higher than 2024
Visit Raleigh said it independently contracted with tourism research firm Tourism Economics to estimate the tourism figures.
Wake County has seen a steady trend of year-over-year growth in tourism in the past five years and has rebounded from lows seen during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Visit Raleigh said the visitors brought in about $342 million in state and local tax revenues last year. Tourism tax dollars are used to pay for education, school construction and several quality-of-life amenities for residents.
Dennis Edwards, President and CEO of Visit Raleigh, said they are expecting similarly big tourism numbers for 2026 thanks to big moments such as the Carolina Hurricane’s Stanley Cup win
“We’re proud to share that Wake County broke visitation,
visitor spending and hospitality tax collection records in 2025 thanks to
leisure travel, major sporting events, meetings and conventions across the
county in conjunction with the continued implementation of the county’s destination strategic plan,” Edwards said. “The vital role
tourism plays in our local economy remains strong. Added visitation and
spotlight on Raleigh with the Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup win in June and The New York Times ’36 Hours
in Raleigh’ coverage earlier this year laid the groundwork for another
successful year in 2026.”
