Winter storms cut into High Country tourism numbers, new report says
Snowstorms that hit other parts of North Carolina kept visitors from the Boone and Blowing Rock areas this winter, according to a new report. This is Appalachian Ski Mountain in December 2025. (Photo: Tony Mecia/The Mountain Ledger)
Heavy snow on three consecutive weekends last winter dampened visitor traffic to the High Country during the first quarter of 2026, according to a new economic report from the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce.
Total visits to Boone and Blowing Rock were down 7.5% compared with the same period last year, according to cell phone location data — which the Chamber estimates translated to roughly 50,000 fewer visitors. The decline was concentrated on Fridays and Saturdays, the busiest days for local hospitality businesses. Visits to ski resorts fell between 3% and 12% year-over-year, with Saturday visits down 12%.
The storm timing also shifted where visitors came from. Traffic from nearby markets including Lenoir, Morganton, and Wilkes County dropped, while visits from the High Country itself ticked up slightly. Chamber President David Jackson attributed the shift in part to major snowfall hitting larger cities like Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro, keeping closer-in visitors home while more committed travelers still made the trip.
Despite the soft winter, occupancy tax collections for the quarter came in 6.3% above Q1 2025, the report said.
Jackson cautioned that many local businesses are still recovering financially from Hurricane Helene, making them more vulnerable to short-term dips in visitor traffic. "Every disruption is a magnified disruption for our local business community," he wrote in the report.