Leaf-peeping season boosts Asheville businesses as visitors return post-Helene

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Asheville is seeing an uptick in business since the start of leaf peeping season, ABC affiliate WLOS reported.

Maria Ferraras, a visitor from the Virgin Islands, visits Asheville every year around leaf season. This year, she told WLOS it’s especially important to support the economy because of the devastating impact of Helene.

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Local businesses agree with Ferraras.

“Recovering and slowly getting back to normal, and we are hoping that our definition of normal can skyrocket,” said Gabriel Starling, Rocket Fizz Asheville Employee.

Michael Freas, an Asheville photographer, says he’s getting almost all of his business from out-of-market visitors.

“When I get phone calls, and you try to send a referral to somebody, they’re booked. And then they send it and they’re booked, and it’s like, that’s a good thing to be happening to business owners here,” Freas told WLOS.

So far this month, the Asheville Downtown Association has recorded about 443,000 out-of-market visitors, compared to nearly 489,000 during the same period in 2023.

“For those who made it through the storm, made it through a really rough winter season. We kind of kept encouraging folks, ‘Hey, fall is coming.’ And now that it’s here, it’s really wonderful to see the support from visitors and from locals alike,” said Hayden Plemmons, the executive director of Asheville Downtown Association.

The Asheville Downtown Association tracks the number of out-of-market visitors using Placer AI, which analyzes cell phone data to see where people are coming from and which businesses they visit while in town.

“They can see how many people are coming to downtown, where they’re coming from, and the businesses that they’re visiting while they’re here,” Plemmons said.

VIDEO: Ashe County man saves driver from rising floodwaters during Hurricane Helene