Tourism event highlights recovery, growth and resilience after Tropical Storm Helene

A sellout crowd convened at the Feb. 12 event “The Year Ahead 2025: The Road to Recovery and Revival,” hosted by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) and its marketing arm Explore Asheville. At the gathering, local leaders and industry experts offered a multifaceted look at the lasting impacts of Helene and what recovery may look like in the months and years to come.

Nine guest speakers shared their thoughts during panel discussions on topics ranging from environmental preservation to economic recovery, transportation and long-term resilience. The event also featured comments from Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chair Amanda Edwards. An awards ceremony honored community members who offered exceptional support after the storm.

“The natural, emotional and economic tolls have been heavy. In just the fourth quarter in Buncombe County alone, we estimate 70% of the visitor economy was lost, totaling nearly $585 million,” said Vic Isley, BCTDA president and CEO of Explore Asheville. “We all have been helping out how we can, where we can. What we’ve achieved together thus far is remarkable, even though we know the road to recovery is long.”

Environmental impacts

Among the panelists was Tracy Swartout, superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Swartout emphasized that the parkway, which marks 90 years this year, is among North Carolina’s most important natural and economic assets. North Carolina is second only to California in the nation in terms of economic impact from national parks, she said.

But the destruction from Helene is widespread; all 469 miles of the parkway were affected by Helene. “We had damage to roads, trails, historic buildings, nonhistoric buildings, infrastructure like campgrounds, picnic areas, vistas,” said Swarout. “The amount of tree fall and debris was really staggering.”

The most significant damage occurred between Linville Falls and Mount Mitchell, which experienced at least 46 landslides. But work is progressing and sections of the parkway have opened. All 200 miles in Virginia have reopened, while around 100 miles in North Carolina have opened. She explained that in the 11-mile Asheville corridor, teams have been working for six weeks to remove over 300 truckloads of woody debris.

“All of these known and loved places where you’re going to go — where our residents are going to go and our visitors want to go — they will be open. And as we repair the road, clear off the debris, we’re going to be opening more and more. The entire parkway will be open, and it’s very important that we share that message,” Swartout said. “It’s also important that you help us explain what it means to have this much construction over the next five years or so, at a minimum. There’ll be work going on for probably the better part of the decade.”

Good news for travelers

Interstate 40 from Asheville west into Tennessee, a major route for commerce and leisure travel, has been partially closed because of landslides that plummeted portions of the highway into the Pigeon River below. Traffic has been detoured to the surrounding communities, causing congestion.

But on Feb. 11, Gov. Josh Stein and N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Secretary Joey Hopkins announced that the thoroughfare would reopen one lane in each direction on March 1. “It’s a really big step to alleviate some of those traffic concerns on I-26 because of detours,” said panelist Tim Anderson, a division engineer for the NCDOT.

Anderson also noted that despite Helene, the timeline for the Interstate 26 expansion project was still on track, with work expected to be completed in 2031. “The storm really didn’t impact our ability to move forward with [the I-26 project]. In fact, we see that it’s that much more important to have a resilient interstate system with losing I-40,” Anderson said.

Meanwhile, the Asheville Regional Airport reported losses after the storm but experienced no lasting damage or interrupted service. Lew Bleiweis, president and CEO of the Greater Asheville Airport Authority, said that the airport is bouncing back.

“We had a 50% drop in October right after the storm. That’s our second-busiest month for the airport, one of the busiest months for our community,” said Bleiweis. “We were down about 25% in November; we were down 14% in December. So slowly, we’re coming back.” 

Bleiweis says that he anticipates the airport to be back to last year’s numbers by the summer. The airport served more than 2 million passengers in 2024 — the second-highest number in the airport’s history — despite disruptions from Helene. A new north concourse is slated to open in June or July.

Keeping Asheville weird

Several panelists spoke about the long-term economic impact of some of Asheville’s hardest-hit areas, including the River Arts District (RAD). Eddie Dewy, founder of Dewy Property Associates which owns properties in Foundy Street and Wedge Studios in the RAD, says that he has heard from some artists that they will not return to the area, which suffered catastrophic damage to dozens of studios and galleries. 

“Yes, [artists] are going to Weaverville. There’s been a big surge to move up there,” Dewey noted. “There will be a return to our district, but it will look different. We want to put as many folks back to work in the River Arts District as we can.”

Eric Oberg, senior director of programs at the Rails to Trails Conservancy based in Washington, D.C., said that while tourism is a major industry in Asheville and Western North Carolina, the focus of recovery efforts should be on the residents. Supporting local artists and makers will have the dual effect of maintaining the area’s appeal to tourists.

“When the conversation is too overly focused on the outsider and the tourist and not on your local residents, you’re going to, long term, miss the mark on both,” Oberg said. He said it’s the region’s creative class that draws people who “want an authentic place to come see and experience and visit.”