An analysis of visitor spending and economic trends in western North Carolina reflect the region still has "a long way to go" in recovering from the widespread impacts from Hurricane Helene, even with some signs of recovery two years after the devastating storm.
Helene, the most damaging storm in state history, claimed the lives of more than 100 people. The state lost $60 billion in damages, while more than 100,000 homes were either destroyed or damaged. It was the fifth-costliest Atlantic hurricane on record adjusted for inflation behind Katrina, Harvey, Ian and Maria.
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The region's proximity to outdoor recreation is one of its main tourism attractions and overall economic drivers. Approximately 14 percent of the region's GDP comes from recreation and tourism.
Just ahead of the storm's two-year mark, data compiled by the North Carolina Rural Center shows the sixteen counties defined as the Helene "region" are still working back from significant employment and financial losses.
The report does, however, show some "positive" signs in terms of recovery,
"What we saw is largely the losses were somewhat minimized, at least in terms of visitors and spending and stuff like that. Some other data suggests that there has been at least kind of a Band-Aid, the bleeding has been stopped for the most part," says Dalton Bailey of the North Carolina Rural Center.
Declines in visitor spending, and the jobs that come with it
In the years before Helene's landfall, tourism spending had risen approximately $200 million every year. The region was on track to surpass $6 billion in total visitor spending.
In 2024 and 2025, visitor spending dropped by approximately $300 million from what the region saw in 2023. It marked two consecutive years of visitor spending declines. That spending data is not inflation adjusted either, and does not consider rising costs of the region, meaning losses to visitor spending could be more severe when examining more than just raw changes.
"Small businesses lost months of sales, and we had to do everything we can to try to help them in those early months to keep their doors open. We could have done a lot more, but we did what we could," North Carolina Governor Josh Stein told reporters in a media appearance this September.
Bailey, who authored the NC Rural Center report, notes that the declines in visitor spending slowed for 2025. Most counties in the region experienced some level of spending growth, even if that total change was small. The region's "foothills" saw gains, which may have been a product of mountain vacation visitors moving where they stayed.
Some businesses owners say the financial road back is still difficult.
"We're struggling, we're struggling to get by," said Alex Webber, a small business owner in the town of Marshall during a press call with organization Extreme Weather Survivors.
"We lost over $200,000 in equipment, things that are completely irreplaceable," she added.
Roughly 2,500 tourism supported jobs were lost since 2023, with Asheville's surrounding Buncombe County losing the most jobs in the region. With fewer dollars in the region, the report notes, many businesses shed jobs to stay afloat.
A seasonal shift in employment returned, however, which the report notes is another positive sign that points to 2025 not being a "total loss."
It notes a full recovery is reliant on the full recovery of Buncombe County, which has not happened yet.
"What we want is to get more people to come back to Western North Carolina. Tourism is a really important part of their economy," Gov. Stein said.