Occupancy in Dare down 15.6% in July, still third highest month of all time
The expected post-pandemic reset in the Outer Banks tourism industry continued to show in the key hospitality statistics for the busiest month of the year, but this July was still the third-highest month of all time of gross occupancy collections by Dare County.
There was also a new monthly record set for prepared meals sales in July, while retail sales for the month of June were below $10 million for the first since 2020.
And the fall forecast continues to show declining numbers, expected to worsen due to the turbulence of an election year and the impact that can have on the Washington D.C.-area which is a key market for the Outer Banks.
According to figures released at the Dare County Tourism Board meeting on Thursday, $181,861,471 was collected for stays in hotels, motels, vacation rentals, campgrounds, and other accommodations in the month of July.
That is down 15.6% from the previous year, when $215,518,673 was collected to break the single-month record set in July 2022 of $203,794,691.
Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lee Nettles noted last month that there were five Saturdays this June, only four this July, and vice versa in 2023, and that would also play a factor in the latest report.
“We thought we were going to pay back some of those June gains in this month with the number of Saturday trade off, and just as expected, that’s what happened,” Nettles said in a video posted Thursday.
July has long been by the busiest month for visitation in Dare County, accounting for five of the six highest months of gross occupancy collections this decade.
The only other non-July month to lead the rankings is August 2021 ($158,280,320).
For the calendar year, occupancy collections total $490,384,533, also the third-highest through the first seven months.
That was a decline of 7.56% from the all-time high set in 2023 ($530,503,307), which broke the previous year-to-date mark set in 2022 ($526,103,996).
Of note, the amount collected so far in 2024 is higher than the entire 12 months of every year prior to 2018.
This year’s numbers have fallen more in line with what industry officials expected to see immediately after the boom of late 2020 and through 2021 that followed the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With those declining numbers…we’ll see if we can close that gap (in the year-to-date decrease), but we do expect to see a drop for the remainder of fall,” Nettle said. “(The tourism industry) is going to keep slugging away and hopefully get on solid footing here before long.”
Prepared meals sales reached $64,106,359 to set a new monthly all-time high for a third straight July, up 2.78% from 2023.
Year-to-date, the meals category is up 0.36% from a year ago at $230,293,909. That is also a new record for the first seven months of the year.
Retail sales in Dare County in the month of June totaled $9,914,654, down 1.32% from 2023.
It’s the sixth straight month that retail sales declined compared to the same month the year prior.
For the year-to-date, retail sales are down 3.16% at $39,631,064. It’s the first time that figure has been below $40 million since 2021.
In other business during Thursday’s meeting of the Dare County Tourism Board, Nettles said the August event grant window received 28 applications, with $177,500 awarded to 24 nonprofit organizations, which are are funded by the hospitality-related tax collections.
“We’re in event season, of course, but be sure to get out there and show your support not only for the event, but for the nonprofit organization that’s operating…that event,” Nettles said.
“And please consider volunteering your time to help support that event in a different way,” Nettles said. “That’s a great way to get a new perspective on the fun events that are happening in the Outer Banks.”
Visitors Bureau staff reports highlighted ongoing marketing initiatives, including a YouTube long-form series with 14 interviews that will debut in November, integration of an artificial intelligence assistant as part of a pilot project with six other destinations around the country, and a new booking engine on the outerbanks.org website, with a nominal fee for listings and commission-free bookings.
And Nettles shared a reminder about the 10th annual Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Tourism Summit, which will be held November 7 at the Pioneer Theater in Manteo.
