Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Releases 2025 Q1 Economic Indicators Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                         Contact: David Jackson, 828-264-2225

May 6, 2025

BOONE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RELEASES

2025 Q1 ECONOMIC INDICATORS REPORT

Dr. Harry Davis sees evidence of an economic rebound from the hurricane impacts in key sectors.

As the High Country prepares for the busy summer tourism season, while still processing the economic impacts of Hurricane Helene, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce released its Q1 Economic Indicators Report for 2025.

This quarterly report examines five key statistics within the Watauga County & High Country Economy, featuring a summary of local impacts by Dr. Harry Davis, Appalachian State and North Carolina Bankers Association Professor and long-standing regional economist. The report also includes quick stats and commentary on local commercial real estate activity provided by James Milner, CCIM, Appalachian Commercial Real Estate and a summary of the residential real estate market supplied by Stacie Pineda, Stacie Pineda Real Estate Group.

“The High Country economy has rebounded significantly from the early days and months post Hurricane Helene, but we still see evidence of the economic impact the storm created,” said Dr. Davis. “After seven months, it’s encouraging to see that most of the economic metrics we look at have only deteriorated slightly, not severely.”

The Quarter 1 Economic Indicators report was developed, and data compiled with the assistance of the Watauga County Economic Development Commission, Watauga County Tourism Development Authority, High Country Association of Realtors, and the Chamber’s Business Development Committee.

“While Mother Nature dealt us a devastating blow in late September, her invitation to Old Man Winter helped drive one of the most economically impactful and well-timed winter sports seasons in recent memory,” said David Jackson, President/CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. “We all owe a sincere thank you to Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain Resort, Hawksnest Snow Tubing & Zipline, and Sugar Mountain Resort for their quick action toward storm repairs that saved the winter tourism season, for visitors, the associated local businesses, and thousands of seasonal employees that were able to maintain their jobs. The cold snaps and snowfall helped our region host over 300,000 winter sports visitors during the season. This activity boosted the performance of both occupancy and sales tax collections in the early months of the year.”

A review of data for the previous four quarters can be found here:

•      Review of Quarter 3 & 4 (January 2025) Economic Indicators
•      Review Quarter 2 (July 2024) Economic Indicators
•      Review Quarter 1 (April 2024) Economic Indicators

To contact Dr. Harry Davis for follow-up comments, please contact the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University at 828-262-4030. For James Milner, email ja***@ap************.com. To reach Stacie Pineda, email mailto:st****@st**********.com” data-original-string=”cTNPafjBXYRBe0LhWDvZ1A==a76g3niV/UGCivkMWGEQPi1J8QbheN5H7i9GhwVyYNx3O5mR0P9TmLd1O79tiDiIvjl8MntNa/aKiDuoFX+TD6U94dbHV3DKYoj63aLoBd8iaoMGC6K1Wjc54V6NOgqQtpKxRqx2c6hhStws6IBjtQXTgkhJztBYtesc49YPKkJv1VS7sqHdNkTrb8nB2YKxmeXaJAdOgz15TWvgpWOXMs65afihWt9RCZrmk/hNJ+e7QpMVL8lOID7r9/Fm9omAsfGf7qK87Z+5+UmE3tnXknunCG6Ulc6amB3WwlqMgw+FQM=” title=”This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.

David Jackson

President/CEO

Boone Area Chamber of Commerce

(828) 264-2225 – office