Tourism survey shows shift in residents’ attitudes

After Tropical Storm Helene essentially slammed the door to visitors in the fall, some residents acknowledged that tourism isn’t so bad after all, according to a recent survey. 

A survey by MMGY, a tourism marketing agency that partners with Explore Asheville, shows a new appreciation among residents for tourism’s impact on their quality of life and the importance to the local economy of drawing visitors.

The study was presented by Chris Davidson, executive vice president of travel intelligence for MMGY, during the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) annual planning session on March 28, held at the YMI Cultural Center.  Members of the BCTDA and Explore Asheville, along with invited guests representing the tourism and hospitality industries in Asheville, attended. 

The survey was asked of 406 county residents who were contacted in January and February. 

• Compared with nearly half — 46% — of the 2024 respondents, only 33% of the 2025 group somewhat or completely agreed that visitors prevent residents from enjoying community amenities such as restaurants and attractions.

• Less than a third agreed with the statement that visitors are directly damaging to the environment, down from 50% last year.

• Fewer than a quarter of those surveyed agreed that visitors detract from the culture and character of the community, or that people visiting the area are a drain on the city, both results dropping from 43% the year before.

The majority of respondents were full-time residents, 38% of whom lived in the city of Asheville. The average length of residency, according to the presentation, was nearly 22 years. Half of respondents said that their jobs did not directly benefit from tourism.

On questions related to Helene, 83% of survey respondents either completely or somewhat agreed that visitors have a positive impact on post storm economic recovery, and 97% said increasing awareness of post-Helene recovery efforts is important. 

Ninety-two percent of respondents either completely or somewhat agreed that tourism is beneficial to the community. In comparison, only 83% agreed with that statement in 2022, the first year MMGY conducted  the survey. Meanwhile, 76% of respondents completely or somewhat agreed that the benefits of travel and tourism to our community outweigh the challenges, up from 71% in 2024.

The group compared the results to pre-COVID sentiments. Previous Xpress reporting of 2019 survey results showed a split response, indicating that respondents knew tourism was important to the local economy but had believed that it came at a cost to residents’ quality of life. 

Several members of the audience of tourism and hospitality representatives noted that maintaining the positive sentiment that some residents feel, however, may prove challenging as Asheville continues to recover and visitors begin returning to the city. 

“[It is] nice to see how good the responses were. This is what we’ve been looking for. And it’s also not shocking, given the fact that we have just had this horrible tragedy, to see the community realizing the benefit of tourism and how it supports our community,” said BCTDA member and Realtor Elizabeth Putnam. “The challenge is, how do we keep that up? How do we keep those numbers where they are? Because that’s where we need them to stay.”

“There’s the opportunity post-Helene for us to take greater strides in that effort,” said Matthew Lehman, BCTDA vice chair. “Much like coming out of COVID … this reprieve won’t last forever, so we should make the most of it.”