As one of the fastest-changing industries, tourism continues to be a primary engine of economic health in the entire country.

That applies here in Fayetteville/Cumberland County as well. The Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (FACVB) recently initiated a tourism research project that will serve as the foundation for the Strategic Marketing and Media Planning for 2022 and beyond.

The FACVB sought to highlight tourism's impact on the area through this project. By partnering with the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and the Cool Spring Downtown District, the Foundational Tourism Research Project delivered insights from three different scopes of work: Stakeholder Study, Scout Report and Tourism Market Study.

The Stakeholder Study provided tourism insights from local stakeholders and explored the community's awareness of the three organizations. The information gathered from this effort will help optimize community assets and the community tourism brand.

The Scout Report provided real-time data (cell phone signals) and was able to show the geographic distribution of Fayetteville's visitors from outside of Cumberland County. The data helped identify the markets with the most significant opportunity and will help measure the performance by each market year over year.

The third element of the research project, the Tourism Market Study, targeted regional travelers to assess and measure sentiment, brand health, visitor profile and barriers to visitation.
The purpose of the study was to amplify the core of the regional marketplace by measuring Fayetteville/Cumberland County's brand health as a destination and comparing it to other regional destinations of similar size and scope.

The research summary included impressive numbers regarding tourism's economic health and its impact on the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. The average leisure visitor spends $877 a visit, and the average business visitor party spends $502 during their stay. Even the Visiting Family/Relatives sector spends $489 during a visit.

"The Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties" was prepared for Visit NC by the U.S. Travel Association for 2019, and the below data was presented to FACVB:
• Cumberland County's travel and tourism industry employs 4,820 people with a payroll totaling nearly $116 million.
• Travel spending generates $44.598 million in local and state taxes.
• Travel to Cumberland County is worth $601 million to our local economy, translating to a tax savings of $134.14 per county resident.
• Cumberland County ranks tenth out of North Carolina's 100 counties in economic impact from tourism.

Everyone in the community can contribute to the continuation of the area's growth and shape the tourism industry in Cumberland County. The FACVB works alongside the community, hospitality partners and community leaders to further increase tourism and position Fayetteville/Cumberland County as a destination.

The FACVB extends an invitation to all to visit the Welcome Center, where they can learn more about the FACVB goals and mission as they represent Fayetteville/Cumberland County as the tourism marketing arm of the community for conventions, meetings, sporting events and leisure travel.

The research in its entirety can be found on the FACVB website at VisitFayettevilleNC.com/about-us/research.