Abstract:
Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd; a hot, dry summer; and a flood influenced tourists' decisions on whether or not to vacation in North Carolina. A number of tourists wrote off the entire state, even though only certain sections were affected. Tourism dropped slightly, despite a public relations campaign by the North Carolina Department of Tourism. On the positive side, big events like the Special Olympics World Games in Raleigh and the U.S. Open in Pinehurst were boons to tourism.