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• Author: Blake, Kathy
• Position: DESTINATIONS NC: CORPORATE & LEISURE TRAVEL

Tourism was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. But North Carolina's hospitality industry adjusted better than most states and is poised for a rebound, thanks to diverse attractions, open space and public health programs.

Thirty miles from the mainland ever-shifting sands form North Carolina's Outer Banks. They're a front-row seat to Mother Nature's grand show. "The wind blows harder, the waves break bigger and you just feel connected with nature and the elements, in a deeper way," says Lee Nettles, a longtime coastal resident and Outer Banks Visitors Bureau's executive director. "Even on our busiest week, it's possible to walk out onto the seashore and look in either direction and not see another person. I think it's important, especially in this day and age, to feel small and kind of recognize your place in the world."

Outer Banks tourism took off in the 1940s, and visitors continue to come from far and wide to watch wild horses graze, 300 bird species pause during their migrations and dolphins leap from blue water. They climb towering lighthouses that steered sailors through treacherous waters--the Graveyard of the Atlantic. In between, they visit National Park Service sites, tour museums, shop, fish, boat, swim and enjoy soft sand under their feet.

Dare County, which stretches from Hatteras to Duck, is at the Outer Banks' heart. Visitors spent a record $1.4 billion there in 2020, according to VisitNC, the tourism promotion arm of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. But it wasn't smooth sailing for the tourism industry everywhere in the state that year, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Stay-at-home orders were issued around the world to slow the pandemic's spread, nearly stopping the tourism industry in the process. "The last year and a half have had challenges," Nettles says. North Carolina visitors spent $19.7 billion in 2020, 32% less than the prior year, and 86 of the state's 100 counties recorded less visitor spending. Tourism employment followed suit, declining 26% to 178,685.

Leisure travel is behind most of North Carolina tourism's success during the pandemic, setting up a quicker than expected recovery. "We expect this summer to be as strong, if not slightly stronger, than last year," says Jim Browder, Crystal Coast Tourism Development Authority executive director. "Beaches and mountains will continue to be in high demand." Business travel, including meetings and conventions, has lagged, but it's expected to...