Questions & Answers

What is the tourism department?

The Currituck County Department of Travel and Tourism (Currituck Travel & Tourism) was created to attract visitation to Currituck County through promotional and marketing activities and thus grow our visitor economy.

What is our mission?

The mission of Currituck Travel & Tourism is the promotion of the County to attract guests for the purpose of visitation spending.

What is our vision?

Having a vision gives us purpose and focuses our marketing and promotional decisions and activities:.

The Vision of Currituck Travel & Tourism is to encourage and inspire visitation to our beaches and Mainland for the pursuit of adventure, the love of history, the warmth of Southern hospitality and the making of family traditions.

In Currituck County, the occupancy tax rate is 6% and the revenue generated by the tax is administered by Currituck County’s Tourism Development Authority (TDA) which consists of the elected Board of Commissioners. The TDA has constituted a Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), consisting of seven appointed stakeholders in the County’s tourism industry, to advise the TDA on tourism policies and issues.

of the local tourism sector, the number and types of lodging properties in each community, and competitive destination marketplace considerations. Every community’s needs for developing their own visitor economy are different, which is one reason why every piece of North Carolina occupancy tax legislation is unique.

In North Carolina, consumers always pay sales tax on the cost of their lodging in addition to occupancy tax for those counties who have enacted legislation for this tax. The sales tax generated by accommodations amounts to many millions of additional dollars annually which goes to state and local governments. The economic impact of sales tax generated by Currituck’s visitors is what keeps our property taxes low and provides many of the amenities that are enjoyed by the County’s residents.

All local occupancy taxes in North Carolina must be enacted by the NC General Assembly, and every community is governed by its own distinct legislation. Unlike sales tax, no occupancy tax revenue is directed to state government in North Carolina—100% remains at the local level. Legislation is unique to each community; no two occupancy taxes are automatically the same. Every community’s situation is dependent upon a variety of considerations. These may include the strength

The North Carolina House of Representatives adopted uniform provisions in 1997 as guidelines for future occupancy tax legislation to create standards for this legislation. However, these guidelines did not retroactively affect legislation enacted prior to 1997, and the amount of money allocated for tourism promotion and other tourismrelated uses is still dictated by specific legislation.

Currituck County Legislation

By NC Statute, occupancy tax must be deposited into the General Fund; however, that does not mean it can be used for general county purposes such as general operation of local government, school construction and school district operations or any project or program that does not service or improve tourism and/or business travel. There are three enabling pieces of the local legislation following along with restrictions on the expenditures of occupancy tax:

• the original 3% - which is restricted to tourism related expenditures;

• an additional 1% - 2/3 which is restricted to the promotion of travel and tourism and 1/3 which is restricted to tourism related expenditures; and

• an additional 2% - 2/3 which is restricted to the promotion of travel and tourism and 1/3 which is restricted to tourism related expenditures.

It is important to understand the following definitions that are also included within the legislation:

To promote travel and tourism

“to advertise or market an area or activity, publish and distribute pamphlets and other materials, conduct market research or engage in similar promotional activities that attract tourists or business travelers The term includes administrative expenses incurred in engaging in these activities.”

Tourism related expenditures

“expenditures that, in the judgment of the Currituck County Board of Commissioners, are designed to increase the use of lodging facilities, meeting facilities, recreational facilities and convention facilities in a County by attracting tourists or business travelers to the County. This term includes tourism-related capital expenditures and beach nourishment”.