Source: Michael B. Hardison, SAMPSON INDEPENDENT, 11/10/21

 Domestic and international visitors to and within Sampson spent $41.9 million in 2020, a decrease of 24.5% from 2019. The data comes from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “Despite this year’s decrease in visitor spending due to the impacts of COVID-19, Sampson County has seen an increase every year since 2016,” Sheila Barefoot, executive director of the Sampson County Convention and Visitors Bureau...

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