“We want to thank our tourism partners for working so hard this year to bring this revenue into Halifax County,” Lori Medlin, president of the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau said in a statement. “Our goal each year is to build our tourism product and keep our hotel rooms full. These visitors spend money in hotels, restaurants, service stations and in retail establishments. This is tremendous business and positive growth for Halifax County.”

Medlin said this afternoon the state figures were based on the calendar year. Fiscal year figures which she will present in October are expected to show an even larger increase and will include May and June numbers.

“We attribute it to enhanced marketing of hotels, restaurants and gas stations,” she said, as well as an increased number of events, reunions and the draw of Lake Gaston. “And then the economy has picked up. Retail sales are up. People are more willing to travel.”

Medlin said the state report is good news for the economy. “The more tourism we can pull in, the better we are.”

The state in today's news release reports the following highlights for Halifax County:

• The travel and tourism industry directly and indirectly employs more than 1,000 people in Halifax County.

• Total payroll directly generated by the tourism industry in Halifax County was $10.31 million.

• State tax revenue generated in Halifax County totaled $5.24 million through state sales and excise taxes, and taxes on personal and corporate income.

Approximately $2.10 million in local taxes were generated from sales and property tax revenue from travel-generated and travel-supported businesses.

The statement said Governor Pat McCrory announced in May visitors to North Carolina spent a record $21.3 billion in 2014, an increase of 5.5 percent from 2013.

These statistics are from the 2014 Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties.

The study was prepared for Visit North Carolina by the U.S. Travel Association.

“More than 90 percent of the state’s counties saw direct tourism employment growth from 2013 to 2014,” said Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit North Carolina. “As the sixth most visited state in the country, tourism continues to be major driver of economic development across North Carolina.” Statewide highlights include:

• State tax receipts as a result of visitor spending neared the $1.1 billion mark in 2014. The figure represents 4 percent in growth over 2013’s $1 billion.

• Visitors spend more than $58 million per day in North Carolina. That spending adds more than $4.6 million per day to state and local tax revenues — about $2.9 million in state taxes and $1.7 million in local taxes.

• The travel and tourism industry directly employees more than 200,000 North Carolinians.