Fayetteville Tourism & Visitor Economy (2024–2026)

Fayetteville, North Carolina has quietly transformed from a pass-through stop on I-95 into a destination with a resilient visitor economy. While Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) remains the city’s anchor, recent years show a deliberate pivot toward heritage tourism, outdoor recreation, and "bleisure" travel that blends business and leisure.

This guide summarizes the key trends shaping Fayetteville’s tourism economy between 2024 and 2026 and explains what they mean for visitors, residents, and planners.

Visitor spending and jobs

Recent impact reports show that visitor spending in Cumberland County has climbed to nearly $700 million per year. That spending supports roughly 4,800 local jobs across:

• Hotels and short-term rentals
• Restaurants, breweries, and cafes
• Attractions, museums, and outdoor recreation
• Transportation and retail

Those jobs generate around $175 million in labor income for local households and contribute tens of millions of dollars in state and local tax revenue.

One of the clearest ways to understand the impact: tourism-driven tax collections reduce the annual tax burden for residents. Recent calculations suggest that visitor spending effectively saves each county resident around $140 per year in additional taxes that would otherwise be needed to fund the same services.

Group travel and meetings rebound

Historically, Fayetteville was seen largely as a transient destination—one-night stops for PCS moves, training cycles, or interstate travelers. That picture is changing.

• Confirmed group room nights in 2025 exceeded 12,000, a year-over-year increase of more than 150%.
• Growth is driven by military reunions, sports tournaments, association meetings, and small conferences.

The local tourism authority, rebranded as DistiNCtly Fayetteville, has earned accreditation from the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP), signaling to meeting planners that the destination meets global standards for professionalism and accountability.

For visitors, this growth means:

• More events and tournaments on the calendar
• New hotels and extended-stay options aimed at groups and teams
• Better-developed itineraries that combine meetings with museums, gardens, and nightlife

Brand: America’s first military sanctuary community

Fayetteville markets itself as America’s first military sanctuary community. This brand goes beyond simply being “a base town.” It emphasizes:

• Deep community support for service members, veterans, and families
• A sense of "hometown" belonging for people stationed here or returning for reunions
• A tourism product built around military heritage, but balanced with arts, dining, and outdoor recreation

The core promise often gets summed up as history, heroes, and a hometown feeling:

• History: World-class military museums, historic homes, and downtown architecture
• Heroes: Active-duty soldiers, veterans, and their families honored in public spaces and events
• Hometown feeling: Festivals, breweries, parks, and neighborhoods that feel welcoming rather than purely transactional

Investment in downtown and attractions

Between 2024 and 2026, Fayetteville is investing heavily in the experiences that underpin this brand:

• Market House repurposing: A multi-year project turning the 1830s Market House into an illuminated, fully interpreted landmark that addresses both its civic role and its history of slavery.
• Cool Spring Downtown District: More than $100 million in public and private investment has turned the core into a walkable cluster of restaurants, galleries, lofts, and Segra Stadium.
• Trails and gardens: The Cape Fear River Trail, Cape Fear Botanical Garden, Carvers Creek State Park, and city parks form a green and blue network for walkers, cyclists, and families.
• Museums and memorials: The Airborne & Special Operations Museum and North Carolina Veterans Park continue to anchor the "history and heroes" narrative while remaining free to visit.

These projects give visitors multiple reasons to extend their stay beyond a single night.

Culinary and brewery development

Tourism growth has encouraged a richer food and beverage scene:

• Traditional barbecue joints share the stage with chef-driven spots using heritage meats and creative sides.
• An "international cuisine trail" has emerged, led by restaurants serving West African, Mediterranean, Vietnamese, and other global cuisines.
• Breweries like Dirtbag Ales, Gaston Brewing Company, Bright Light Brewing, and longtime brewpubs such as Huske Hardware House provide third places where locals and visitors mix.

This diversity reflects the global backgrounds of military families and adds depth to Fayetteville’s offer for weekend visitors and meeting attendees.

Infrastructure, access, and practical considerations

Despite its growth, Fayetteville remains a car-dependent destination:

• Public transit is designed primarily for residents, not attraction hopping.
• Ride-share availability can fluctuate, especially outside the core.

Driving visitors benefit from:

• Free on-street parking on most weekends in downtown
• Special event parking rates for games at Segra Stadium and major festivals

Safety in the key visitor zones—Downtown, Haymount, and the main retail corridors—is actively managed with regular patrols and event security. As with any small city, standard precautions are advised, but most tourism activity concentrates in well-lit, busy areas.

Outlook for 2025–2026

Looking ahead, Fayetteville’s tourism strategy focuses on:

• Completing the Market House project and expanding interpretive trails
• Growing festival tourism around the Dogwood Festival and International Folk Festival
• Adding new hotels and extended-stay properties to support group and long-term demand
• Continuing to market the city as both a military heritage destination and a livable, welcoming place to spend a few days

For visitors, this means more things to do, better dining and lodging choices, and a city that takes its dual identity seriously: a working military community and an increasingly sophisticated travel destination.

For residents, it means more jobs, more cultural offerings, and a tourism economy that helps shoulder the tax load.

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Last updated: 2025-11-22