With the streak of hot days we’ve had in the Charlotte region recently, maybe you’ve thought of heading to Lake Norman to try and cool down. Be warned, it might be even more crowded than you’re used to. According to new data, it looks like Lake Norman is attracting more and more people from outside the Charlotte region in addition to locals. For more, WFAE’s Marshall Terry is joined by the Charlotte Ledger’s Ashley Fahey for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: So Lake Norman is having a moment. Hot lake summer? What is this data and what does it indicate about who has been visiting the lake recently?
Ashley Fahey: I think to your point, Lake Norman’s always been kind of known as a day trip or an afternoon for a lot of folks who live in the Charlotte region. But now, according to some data we pulled here at the Ledger, it looks like there’s a lot more overnight visitors. The number of Airbnbs and VRBO have basically more than doubled since May 2019 to May of this year. We’re just seeing more evidence of folks staying overnight, which suggests that they don’t live in the Charlotte region…