Mostly sunny: North Carolina's tourism industry is growing despite having to weather recent storms.

• Position: TRAVEL AND TOURISM ROUND TABLE - Interview

VISITORS SPENT A RECORD $21.3 billion here in 2014, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce. That money supports more than 40,000 businesses and nearly 205,000 jobs statewide. Ensuring that North Carolina continues to attract guests involves more than beautiful beaches and mountains. Business North Carolina magazine gathered travel and tourism executives to discuss what the industry is doing well, the challenges it faces and the moves needed to keep North Carolina one of the most visited states.

The discussion was moderated by Ben Kinney, Business North Carolina publisher. Visit NC hosted the discussion at its Cary offices. Support was provided by Greenville-Pitt County, Greensboro and Greater Raleigh convention and visitors bureaus and The Umstead Hotel. The transcript was edited for brevity and clarity.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

DENNIS EDWARDS president and CEO, Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

HENRI FOURRIER president and CEO, Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

TINA FULLARD director of sales and marketing, San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC's Cardinal Hotel in Winston-Salem

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

LYNN MINGES president and CEO, Raleigh-based North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

BRYN NICHOLSON director of sales, The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

ANDREW SCHMIDT executive director, Greenville-Pitt County Convention and Visitors Bureau

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

WIT TUTTELL executive director, VisitNC, a division of Cary-based Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina Inc.

HOW IS THE TOURISM INDUSTRY?

[TUTTELL] There's growth. Through the third quarter, lodging is up nearly 4%. It's up about 2% nationally.

[FULLARD] Kimpton opened its first North Carolina property--Cardinal Hotel in Winston-Salem--in April. The building is the former [Winston-Salem-based] R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. headquarters and an inspiration for the Empire State Building. Kimpton is opening two Charlotte properties in fall 2017. One is a downtown mixed-use building with 216 rooms and a rooftop bar. The second is a boutique hotel with 128 rooms in Dilworth.

[SCHMIDT] Tax revenue is up about 5% this year. Greenville fared better than expected in the flood that followed Hurricane Matthew in October. Our eastern North Carolina neighbors weren't as fortunate. We're helping other destinations in the region. Unfortunately, we have experience with flooding, so we plan for it. Our convention and visitors bureau gauges hotel room availability for evacuees and recovery workers. They share other information such as road closures, curfews and where to find resources.

[NICHOLSON] Umstead will celebrate 10 years in January. Business has been strong, and we're looking to finish the year that way. We're significantly ahead of pace for next year.

[FOURRIER] Our tax revenue is up about 5% as of the beginning of November, but we've had a lot of bad legislative...