Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties all saw increased tourism spending in 2013, according to a report released Friday by the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development.
 
Brunswick County, with a 5.5 percent rise, was eighth among the state’s 100 counties in increased spending by visitors in 2013, according to the report. The county ranked 10th among all counties in terms of overall travel impact.
 
Travel impact takes into account visitor expenditures, tourism-related payroll, tourism-related employment, sales tax receipts and local tax receipts.
 
Here are the statistics for each of the counties as reported by the division:
 
Brunswick County: Visitors spent a total of $470,580,000, resulting in sales tax receipts of nearly $21.4 million and local tax receipts of about $28.2 million. Tourism-related employment was 5,030 with a payroll of $85.7 million.
 
New Hanover County: Visitors spent a total of about $477.7 million resulting in sales tax receipts of nearly $22.3 million and local tax receipts of just over $19 million. The revenue change from 2012 was about 3.8 percent. Tourism-related employment of 5,460 people generated a payroll of $105.4 million.
 
New Hanover ranked 8th among all North Carolina counties in terms of travel impact.
 
Pender County: Visitors to Pender County spent about $84.2 million, generating nearly $4 million in state sales tax and $5.8 million in local tax revenue. County businesses employed 760 people in tourism-related jobs, resulting in a payroll of about $14.1 million. Revenues increased about 4.5 percent from 2012. The change from the previous year was about 4.5 percent. In terms of travel impact, Pender County ranked 45th among all counties.
 
Statewide, according to the report, domestic visitors spent a record $20 billion in 2013, an increase of 4 percent from the previous year. State tax receipts as a result of visitor spending topped $1 billion in 2013, and local tax revenues directly resulting from visitor spending totaled more than $601 million. The report further stated that visitor expenditures directly supported 198,270 jobs and generated more than $4.6 billion in payroll income across North Carolina. 
 
Commerce secretary Sharon Decker said that 95 of North Carolina’s 100 counties saw an increase in visitor spending in 2013.
“Tourism is a key element of our economic development strategy for North Carolina,” she said in a news release. “It means jobs — nearly 200,000 of them across the state — for our residents."