Asheville September Tourism Numbers Up
62 views · Published 5 November 2014 · 2:37 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: WLOS News 13 · 2014 · News & Politics
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- From the Aloft Hotel downtown to the Hilton in Biltmore Park, Asheville hotels are reporting sold out bookings. September has historically been what tourism experts call a "shoulder" or off-peak month. It's the month after the summer tourism season ends, but before October leaf peeping begins. Despite the usual September off season, some hotels are seeing numbers trending up from years past. "Year over year for September we grew 3-5 percent which for us in a 513 room resort is about 550 to 700 rooms and that's just in the month of September," Tracy Johnston-Crum with the Grove Park Inn said. "From tonight through the rest of the weekend through Saturday night we are sold out," David McCartney said, manager of the Aloft Hotel. McCartney credits the city's convention and visitors bureau with helping boost publicity during off-peak months. Sandy Berry from Ft. Lauderdale chose to come with her friend Betsy Stranaham. For them, September was the perfect month for a trip Berry said she's had on her bucket list for years. "We got out of the hot weather, I was so tired of it in Ft. Lauderdale," Berry said. "I collected all the brochures on Asheville for years. And the time was right." Berry and Stranaham both said the airfares in September were more reasonable, another draw for them to fly up. "What we're seeing is that visitation has spread itself all the way from summer into the fall," Marla Tembellini with the Convention and Visitors Bureau said. She said the CVB has spent targeted advertising dollars in off-peak months to get the tourism trend up between the tourism seasons. "It's generally when we've done a lot of advertising," Tembellini said. "What we've seen is a real commitment in the last 20 years to build a more year-round presence for visitation in Asheville knowing the impact it has on our economy." While September numbers may be up, a spokeswoman for the Inn on Biltmore Estate said demand has traditionally remained higher for October than September, and the trend is expected to hold true for this October as the leaves change color. by Kimberly King Follow Kim on Twitter @KimKingReports _______________ Follow WLOS on social media: WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/News13/ WLOS ABC 13 News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WLOS_13 WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wlos_13 Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ABC13Channel/?sub_confirmation=1 Listen to AnchorMOMS, the Podcast: https://wlos.com/news/anchormoms/anchormoms-the-podcast Watch more top local news stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk8Ge6UXHJs&list=PLkVbaoT-aYbIvnEpR0Ct5QQQqYaORUSUH For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit http://www.wlos.com Watch our live newscasts and other live video at https://wlos.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340 WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
