Explore Boone Partners

Promoting Visitation Through Partnerships

The Boone area's attractions, outfitters, lodging, shopping, and restaurants are all crucial parts of our visitors' trips. We're proud to partner with local tourism businesses to provide free marketing opportunities, ensuring visitors are aware of the incredible experiences available in the NC High Country.

There are no membership fees associated with partnering with the Boone or Watauga County TDAs! 

Partnership Benefits and Opportunities:

Who We Are:

Explore Boone acts on behalf of the Boone and Watauga County Tourism Development Authorities as the Destination Marketing Organization for Watauga County and the Town of Boone.

We promote visitation to the area with comprehensive marketing and public relations strategies. Explore Boone produces and distributes a visitor guide annually, maintains a website, social media pages, and events calendar, and regularly hosts members of the media in the destination. 

Occupancy taxes fund the Watauga County and Boone TDAs, which are paid by visitors and collected by hotels, bed & breakfasts, and short-term rentals (less than 30 days). State legislation requires those taxes to be remitted to the TDAs. Two boards of directors oversee the utilization of these taxes, where at least two-thirds of this revenue must be used to market the area as a destination for visitation. The remaining revenue may only be used on tourism-related projects.

Quick Links

Watauga County Visitation Data

Tourism Infrastructure Projects

Sustainable Tourism

Press Kit & Press Releases

Watauga County Visitors

Tourists have an undeniable impact on the Boone area, extending far beyond the traffic around town. Overnight visitors not only contribute to the hotels, bed and breakfasts, and cabins in the area, but also to the shops, restaurants, attractions, and outdoor industries. While occupancy taxes can help create tourism assets that benefit the community and keep visitors coming back, all other visitor spending contributes to tax savings for Watauga County residents. 

Visitor Occupancy Data

See a visual representation of overnight visitation to the area throughout the year with the charts below.

Arrivalist, 2024

Arrivalist, 2023

Visitor Spending Data

2024 Data is from “The Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties.” This study was prepared for Visit North Carolina by Tourism Economics.

Watauga County

Lodging (in millions) $136.30

Food & Beverage (in millions) $155.79

Recreation (in millions) $74.56

Retail (in millions) $43.01

Transportation (in millions) $106.18

Total Spending (in millions) $515.85

Share of State 1.4%

Growth Rate (YoY) -0.4%

Tourism Industry Employment: 3,016

Share of State 1.3%

Labor Income (in millions) $129.11

State Taxes (in millions) $17.15

 Local Taxes (in millions) $18.95

State/Local Tax Savings per Resident $656.22

Top Visitor Markets

Based on geolocation data from visitors' trips to Watauga County in FY 24/25

1. Charlotte
2. Raleigh/Durham
3. Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem
4. Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Wilmington
7. Charleston, SC
8. Greenville/New Bern/Washington (NC)
9. Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL
10. Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA

The Imagine Watauga Plan

Destination Development Projects

In addition to marketing the area as a vacation destination, the TDA also funds tourism-related capital projects that benefit both our community and visitors. 

The Imagine Watauga Plan is a community-led vision developed in 2023 by the Boone and Watauga County TDAs, with Destination by Design as a consultant. This plan is intended to be used as a roadmap for tourism development projects over the next 15 years. Find the methodology and full results from the plan at the website, ImagineWatauga.com.

TDA infrastructure funding has gone towards several ongoing projects. In-progress and previously completed projects are listed below:

Commitment to Sustainability 

Preserving Boone's "Awe" with Outdoor NC

Explore Boone is committed to destination management, in addition to marketing the area to encourage visitation. The Watauga and Boone TDAs understand that maintaining sustainable tourism growth is crucial to preserving the awe-inspiring environment that keeps visitors coming back year after year. 

• Explore Boone proudly partners with Outdoor NC, a statewide campaign that encourages responsible tourism and destination stewardship. 
• "Preserve The Awe" is a multi-tactic campaign run locally in the area, reminding visitors to recreate in the area responsibly. Online resources include a series of interviews with local stewards, recognition for businesses with NC Green Travel certification, and opportunities for visitors to Volunteer during their vacation. The campaign consists of downtown street banners, an Appalcart bus wrap, digital ads, and spots with local radio and newspapers. 
• The TDAs are allowed to use up to 1/3 of their revenue to fund destination development projects. The Boone and Watauga County TDAs always prioritize projects that will improve the health and safety of the environment, the community, and its visitors. By partnering with local organizations like the Blue Ridge Conservancy and Destination by Design to oversee development projects, the TDAs can prioritize environmental impacts, sustainability, and accessibility.