From Staff Reports 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — While the Asheville area’s peak tourism season ends with the fall foliage in early to mid-November, recently released travel industry data from the summer and early fall indicates that the local tourism industry “is still lagging almost a year after Tropical Storm Helene,” the Asheville Citizen Times reported on Oct. 30.

“In July and August, lodging sales — one of the best metrics to indicate the tourism industry's performance — declined more than 20 percent,” the ACT noted, citing data released Oct. 29 by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority.

“July 2025 sales were nearly $49 million compared to over $61 million in 2024. August 2025 sales were $46 million, compared to over $57 million in 2024.”

The ACT added, “July is typically the second busiest month for the travel industry in Western North Carolina and is behind only October, which draws tourists to the region to watch foliage change colors in early fall, often leading to seasonal windfalls for both local businesses and hoteliers. Tropical Storm Helene's impacts on WNC, however, have lingered.

“While Buncombe County's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate reached 3.2 percent in August — well below the 6.8 percent unemployment rate the county started out with in 2025, but still 1 percentage point above 2024 levels — the county's hospitality market has yet to recover from the storm,” the ACT stated. 

“As of August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 26,400 were employed in the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area's leisure and hospitality industry, 9.6 percent below 2024 levels.”

Meanwhile, Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the BCTDA, announced the following during the BCTDA’s’s Oct. 29 meeting:

 "Unfortunately, what we're showing month over month is a continual drag in terms of hospitality."

Despite the lag, many of the BCTDA's hospitality partners are reporting "stronger booking demand and more confidence in booking pace through the end of 2025" in the Asheville market, Isley added.

The ACT added, “At the same time, lags in the region’s industry came during peak leaf season and the federal government shutdown, which is expected to have broader economic impacts if it carries on over the coming weeks.

“In a Oct. 29 report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the shutdown could have an estimated $14 billion impact on the economy. The U.S. Travel Association estimates nearly $4 billion has been lost in the national travel economy since the shutdown began Oct. 1.

“The shutdown has impacted services at the National Park Service, which oversees regionally vital attractions like the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, though nonprofits and local governments have kept services afloat at those park units while tourists flock to the area to see leaves change. 

“Isley called the additional support a ‘silver lining” given the broader impacts of the shutdown,” the ACT reported.

To that end, Isley told the BCTDA, “The gates on the parkway and national parks have not been closed, so they are still accessible to visitors and to us as residents.”