Western North Carolina has often been a playground for tourists who visit the mountains to hike wooded trails, fish in clear rivers, enjoy high-end restaurants, and shop in picturesque downtown shops.

Tourism is one of the top industries for many towns, cities, and counties. In October 2024, some of the area was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, but the mountains bounced back from the destruction to have a better 2025.

“We've come a long way in Asheville and Buncombe County in rebounding and recovering and actually propelling from Helene, we're looking at lots of progress in terms of lodging and restaurants,” said Vic Isley, President and CEO of ExploreAsheville.com. “As challenging as 2025 was, there have been quite a few bright spots. One is that we've had more independent restaurants open in the last year than we've had closed, which is a promising sign. We've had great air passenger growth over the last decade, which includes this past year, and in the wake of Helene our team, working with our hospitality partners, have booked more conferences and events throughout Asheville and Buncombe County than we ever have in the history of our organization.”

More tourists and events are happening in Asheville, including conferences like the Southern States Spring Kickoff (January), American Forage and Grassland Council Conference (January), MO Summit (March), Visit NC 365 Conference (March), Homebrew Con (June) and Mini Meet East (June).

Asheville also entered into a long-term partnership with the Southern Conference to continue hosting championships in the city and it attracted the PGA Tour back to Western North Carolina after 80 years. The inaugural Biltmore Championship is scheduled for September at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Arden.

According to ExploreAsheville, visitors brought just over $82 million into Buncombe County businesses in 1983. Through investment and promotion over the last four decades, that spending has grown 35 times to nearly $3 billion in 2023, comprising 20% of Buncombe County's GDP.

Visitors aren’t simply spending money to book hotel rooms, but they are venturing into the local communities for meals, shopping, and experiences.

“Helene has demonstrated how interconnected our creative community is with our travel and hospitality community,” Isley said. “And when visitors come to stay in Asheville, while 30 percent of what they spend generally is in the lodging businesses, 70 percent of what they spend is outside of those lodging facilities. So that's why our food and beverage community thrives. That's why our artist community thrives. That's why our music industry survives. And so I think it's really important about that connectivity, particularly here in Ashland, actually, throughout western North Carolina.”

Asheville and Buncombe County aren’t the only areas in Western North Carolina that have rebounded from Helene’s destruction.

When asked how tourism is going in Jackson County, the answer was quick and optimistic from Nick Breedlove, who has served as the Executive Director of the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority since 2015.

“I would use the word terrific to describe it,” Breedlove said. “Last year was a great year for us, coming one year post-Helene. We didn't really see the devastation and destruction that our neighbors did, so our recovery was a bit quicker than surrounding counties. We did lose a few million dollars in visitor spending in September and October (2024) from Helene just with closures and cancelations, but then this year, we saw an increase, not only over 2024, but also over prior years as well.”

Jackson County’s hotel occupancy rate in 2025 was up six percent from 2024 and the county’s average daily rate for hotel rooms was up 21 percent, Breedlove said. Jackson County, like other areas of Western North Carolina, sees a big jump in tourism during other area’s hottest months and when the leaves’ colors peak.

“You've got the leaf season, but then you've also got your summer trips. We're a big family destination, so we see a lot of people traveling with children, and our main markets are Atlanta and Charlotte. Then we receive a lot of visitors from in-state as well,” Breedlove said. “When people want to get out of the city and trade  traffic for trees, we're convenient. It's a little over two and a half hour drive from Atlanta and Charlotte and people love to experience nature and get outside, and we're a convenient getaway for them.”

Western North Carolina is indeed a “convenient getaway” for tourists and the thought is that more will play here in 2026.