It's hard to go anywhere in the Outer Banks of North Carolina without seeing a rental property sign. But this year, tourism could be down in the popular beach barrier islands, and the expectation is that lodging could be where that hits the hardest.
“People are concerned, they're worried. They're worried about money this year. I've seen it, I've heard it," said Linda Sabadic, general manager of the Outer Banks Motor Lodge.
Sabadic has worked at the Outer Banks Motor Lodge for more than a decade. She said their reservations aren’t down, thanks to many repeat guests each year, but she has noticed people aren’t planning to stay as long as they usually do.
“We are noticing that the reservations are maybe shorter. Instead of staying 10 days, they're going to stay six, seven days," said Sabadic.
It might be a foreshadowing of the tourism outlook for this year in the Outer Banks.
"Our tourism economy is $2.15 billion annually, and summer makes up about 70% of that in terms of the lodging collections," said Lee Nettles, executive director for the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.
Nettles said that number might look different in 2025.
“We're looking at probably off by about 5% in terms of collections. There's definitely some economic concerns out there, the pressure of tariffs, so there's some uncertainty," said Nettles.
It might just mean the Outer Banks goes back to the visitation level it saw pre-COVID. It should also be noted the hit Netflix series "Outer Banks" first aired in 2020.
“Our visitation exploded during COVID. In a way, it's been nice to kind of settle back to something that's more sustainable and more manageable for us," said Nettles.
Sabadic said it’s not something she's too concerned about for now.
“I'm not worried yet, but I'm not saying this is going to be a boom year. I would not be surprised if we see a dip this year over the course of all the properties in the area,” said Sabadic.
The hope is that the prime summer months from June to August will help shoulder any potential drop in tourism the area might see.
"I am hoping that our June, July and August will remain strong. I'm really hoping that people are still going to vacation, and they'll come to the Outer Banks," said Sabadic.
This story was originally published by Will Thomas with the Scripps News Group in Norfolk.
