Oct. 20—After a surprisingly strong tourism year during the pandemic, out-of-town visitors continued to pour into Haywood County last year, hitting a record level and generating nearly $3 million with its 4% occupancy tax funding.

Lynn Collins, director of the county's tourism development authority, has been making the rounds at local government meetings to discuss what the data show about a major economic driver in the county between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.

This year's good news followed a record-breaking year in 2020-21, when $2.55 million was generated in occupancy revenues and where tourism overall was up 65%.

The one area that suffered a downturn last year was the Lake Junaluska zip code area where the tourism model revolved around hosting groups attending conferences at the retreat center. Collins reported Lake Junaluska Assembly refocused its marketing model and regained enough group bookings to make a great comeback.

In addition to showing revenue collected in each of five zip code districts across the county, the occupancy tax report contains a plethora of other information. For instance, data shows where in Haywood most visitors stay and the type of accommodations they flock to, whether it the cabins, cottages, villas and vacation rental category, hotels/motel, campgrounds, country clubs/resorts or bed, breakfasts inns and lodges.

The cabin, villa and vacation rental category far outpaces all other categories with hotels/motels a distant second.

Collins said a nugget gleaned from the data that was most surprising was the January 2022 set an all-time record in the number of vacation rentals rented out. January is normally a slow month, with July and October being at the busiest end.

The agency also has the ability to track visitors who are outside a 50-mile radius of the county.

"We put parameters on the program and can pull data that will tell you where people sleep, where they went, how long hey stayed and where they were before and after they were here," she said.

Collins said North Carolina has designated next year as the year of the trail. She told the Canton governing board TDA would be contributing plenty of information for that promotional opportunity, including the new trails opening at Chestnut Mountain Park.

When the park opened this spring 35 acres of the total 450-acre tract will be open to the public — namely the mountain biking skills course known as Berm Park and a hiking and biking trail that climbs 350 feet from the pedestrian bridge that serves as the gateway into the property. In September, another trail opened that will allow hikers to make a 4-mile loop on the mountain.