Posted May 9, 2017 11:15 a.m. EDT Updated May 9, 2017 11:40 a.m. EDT

— North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Anthony M. Copeland announced Monday that North Carolina tourism generated record visitor spending in 2016 with a total of $22.9 billion, a 4.3 percent increase from 2015.

“Nearly 50 million people from across the United States visited North Carolina destinations last year,” Copeland said. “The money they spent supported 218,340 jobs and more than 45,000 businesses.”

Tourism industry-supported employment topped 218,000 jobs to set another record for the state.

The research was commissioned by Visit North Carolina and conducted by the United States Travel Association.

Visitors spent nearly $63 million per day in North Carolina last year.

North Carolina Tourism Facts

• Visitors to North Carolina generated about $3.6 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2016, a 4.8 percent increase from 2015.

• State tax receipts as a result of visitor spending rose 5.2 percent to nearly $1.2 billion in 2016.

• Local tax receipts from visitor spending grew 4.8 percent to $692.8 million in 2016.

• Direct tourism employment in North Carolina increased 3.2 percent to 218,340 people in the industry.