Nine occupancy-tax funded projects are on hold due to unknown recovery costs associate with Tropical Storm Helene.
Smart Bets: Historic Home Tour
The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County invites self-paced exploration of four lovingly restored and preserved Chestnut Hill homes Feb. 22-23.
Tourism event highlights recovery, growth and resilience after Tropical Storm Helene
Nine guest speakers shared their thoughts during panel discussions on topics ranging from environmental preservation, economic recovery, transportation and long-term resilience at the Feb. 12 event,“ The Year Ahead 2025: The Road to Recovery and Revival,”
Service workers ‘moving pennies around’ to pay bills
Service industry workers consider options for getting through what is likely to be a lean winter.
Smart Bets: Thomas Wolfe Memorial reopens
After sustaining damage from a fallen tree during Tropical Storm Helene, the historic home and museum is once again open to the public.
Smart Bets: Merry Main Street
Burnsville’s annual holiday celebration happens Dec. 13.
Tourism plummets in the wake of Helene
With lodging and sales tax revenues down, the region could face an economic crisis on top of a natural disaster.
Small towns find ways to aid businesses suffering financially after Helene
As small towns throughout Western North Carolina face an October without tourists, local nonprofits and community members are finding ways to help financially struggling businesses.
Regional Sports Commission confident in its new playbook
The Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission thinks it still has a future months after Buncombe County TDA stripped its funding. “We feel confident in our game plan moving forward,” says Executive Director Chris Smith.
Speaker encourages creative thinking at BCTDA annual meeting
“The more we can share those experiences in a way that people believe, the more we can overcome that believability crisis,” speaker Rohit Bhargava told about 300 hospitality professionals at the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s annual meeting.
Communities throughout WNC embrace outdoor recreation projects
From Woodfin to Canton, Hendersonville to Brevard, local communities are embracing outdoor recreation as a way to drive economic growth and provide recreational opportunities for residents.
City program offers ‘carrot’ to hotel developers
Since 2021, 13 hotel projects have gone through the by-right process, with 11 committing more than $2.7 million toward city priorities, according to a newly released City of Asheville public dashboard.
June tourism stays steady compared with June 2023
As more hotels get built, more people rent them, report shows. Vacation rentals were also up from June 2023.
Green Roundup: Landowners along Ecusta Trail win $5M claim against federal government
After several years of litigation, a recent court ruling has required the federal government to pay over $5 million to 164 landowners along the proposed 19.4-mile Ecusta Trail. Compensation to individual property owners ranges from $223 to $191,061. The multiuse greenway, scheduled to be completed in 2028, will run along an unused railway corridor connecting […]
BCTDA gets overview of AVL airport’s growth, construction
Forward, the airport’s construction and design initiative, is expanding the airport from seven gates to 12 with a new baggage claim, two concourses, a concession plaza, and windows throughout the terminal to make the airport brighter
BCTDA anticipates flat occupancy earnings for fiscal year 2025
The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority unveiled its proposed $34.3 million budget budget for fiscal year 2025 during its May 29 board meeting.
Big changes on the way at DuPont State Recreational Forest
DuPont State Recreational Forest attracted more than a million visitors in 2023, something nobody expected when the site opened nearly 30 years ago. To keep up with the growth, forest officials are about to enact some major changes.
Hospitality workers reveal health care struggles in new survey
Less than one-fourth of Asheville hospitality workers in a recent survey have paid sick leave, and 85% have gone to work sick.
A story of how the TDA decides what to fund
Last month, the BCTDA awarded its first slate of 12 grants from the fund, helping finance projects for organizations from the Swannanoa Valley Art League and Black Wall Street AVL to the Asheville Museum of Science and the City of Asheville.
TDA approves about $10 million for community projects but not affordable housing
The big question heading into the April 24 meeting of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority was whether affordable housing projects would qualify for financing from the agency’s new $10 million grant fund. The answer was “not really.”
BID public hearing draws crowd despite scheduling kerfuffle
The BID proposal requires two votes from Council, The first is slated for Tuesday, May 14, and the second on Tuesday, June 11. If approved, the governance structure of the BID will be established at a later date.
