Explore Asheville: Charting Post-Hurricane Recovery for the Community

By: Jessie Hilfiker

| Updated Apr 22, 2025

Learn about Explore Asheville’s creative and collaborative efforts in navigating the effects of Hurricane Helene, including the initial response to the crisis as well as organizing successful fundraising campaigns and small business-centered initiatives.

On September 26, 2024, Category 4 hurricane, Helene, traveled through Florida’s Big Bend area and gradually made its way towards Georgia and the Carolinas with strong rainfall and winds. Infrastructure damage, widespread power outages, and a municipal water system failure left Asheville and Buncombe County, North Carolina, in a crisis. Tragically, there were 43 fatalities in the county, as a result. In the wake of the devastation, Explore Asheville acted as a steadfast leader in recovery efforts, helping impacted businesses get back on their feet.

We met with Explore Asheville’s Ashley Greenstein, Public Information Manager, and Cassidy Santander, Public Relations Manager, to discover how the organization implemented resilience and resourcefulness towards the challenge of mitigating the economic impact of Hurricane Helene.

Responding to Crisis with Community-Strengthening Solutions

With departments of Buncombe County’s local government focused on life-saving aid, Explore Asheville realized that the area required additional help with economic recovery. Coming together as a team was key. Explore Asheville’s marketing department paused paid marketing efforts and focused their attention on sending out consistent and firm messaging in the form of updates.

The updates were sent out through a series of emails, providing essential resources for residents and tourists. The emails included updates on the status of highways and the Asheville Regional Airport, as well as resources like locations for food and water distribution, and the FEMA Disaster Assistance for Individuals and Businesses.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Visit Asheville | Asheville, North Carolina (@visitasheville)

However, with a city deficit of $17 million in revenue loss for the 2024 fiscal year, Asheville needed something more than loans and temporary relief. Explore Asheville banded together in pivoting their focus on sending grants to local businesses. With two pre-hurricane destination management programs — the Tourism Product Development Fund and the Legacy Investment From Tourism Fund — shifting grant focus to the ongoing crisis was an instinctive decision.

Greenstein noted that the team's strength in spearheading responses to the hurricane was due in part to Explore Asheville’s President & CEO, Vic Isley, who “gracefully managed the situation with clarity and conviction.”

With a dynamic and collaborative web and content team, Explore Asheville also dived deep into tapping in their internal resources, utilizing elements such as updating their partner listings’ statuses and talents for showcasing impactful stories about local businesses.

Mapping Out Financial Relief for Local Businesses

Along with essential resources for the community, Explore Asheville communicated future aid efforts. In early October, Explore Asheville distributed a press release outlining information about Concert for Carolina — an October 26th concert benefiting aid relief at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte — and two initiatives: Always Asheville and Love Asheville from Afar.

The Always Asheville Fund helps Buncombe County-situated small independent travel and hospitality businesses recover financial losses from the impacts of Hurricane Helene. More than $1 million dollars were provided through the Always Asheville Fund for local businesses, including a $100,000 donation raised in partnership with Destinations International.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Visit Asheville | Asheville, North Carolina (@visitasheville)

Explore Asheville developed the Always Asheville Fund in a two-week time frame with the purpose of unveiling the initiative alongside information about the Concert for Carolina, which was another integral part of financially helping the community through multi-faceted collaboration, eventually generating more than $24 million dollars for Hurricane Helene relief. Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority supported the event with $1 million as the presenting sponsor. The concert was secured in a week with the help of two artists — Luke Holmes and Eric Church. Both Holmes and Church have strong roots in North Carolina.

The Love Asheville From Afar initiative was launched with the focus of bridging a link between Buncombe County businesses and supporters in an online space. There, patrons can directly discover businesses’ e-commerce platforms, as well as send donations via GoFundMe pages. Over 300 local businesses were featured at the launch of the initiative and has since grown to include more community members. According to Santander, Love Asheville was a source of livelihood for multiple business owners and artists in the following months after the storm.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Visit Asheville | Asheville, North Carolina (@visitasheville)

The multifaceted efforts of the Explore Asheville team is proving fruitful. As Explore Asheville lifts up local businesses and brings back tourists, the results are beginning to show positive transformation for the community. New shops and artistic spaces are beginning to emerge, including local galleries and boutiques.

Credit: Photo by Fiasco Media, Stephan Pruitt. Courtesy of Explore Asheville.

Organizing Partnerships for Significant Impact

By fostering partnerships with various organizations and talented individuals, Explore Asheville unlocked unexpected opportunities to advance recovery efforts. The Explore Asheville team worked with other destination marketing organizations, like Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, to obtain physical resources, transforming their office into a distribution center of essential goods.

Explore Asheville also teamed up with their hotel partners to house first responders and FEMA members in suites for the first three months after the storm. As a result, businesses were kept afloat through the arrival of emergency medical and supportive services. Additionally, Explore Asheville cultivated a stronger relationship with its local government members by helping with economic recovery efforts and fostering streamlined communication with FEMA.

“Through this tragedy, the heart of hospitality has been a beacon of light,” shared Explore Asheville Isley in her address shortly after the storm. “Restaurant owners cleared out their walk-in refrigerators and cooked free meals for thousands of residents and first responders. Lodging owners and operators, without power, water and very few staff, opened rooms for first responders working 24-to-48-hour shifts.”

Through this tragedy, the heart of hospitality has been a beacon of light.

Vic IsleyPresident & CEO, Explore Asheville

Spearheading Strategic Event & Tourism Recovery Initiatives

With news coverage of flooding and other scenes of devastation, the focus shifted to welcoming tourists back to the area in a responsible and respectful way.

In the months following Hurricane Helene, Explore Asheville team focused on demystifying which areas of the city are safe to visit with transparent communication and seasonal plans. The “Be Part of the Comeback” campaign — featuring a commercial with Eric Church’s song, “Carolina” — showcases scenes of Asheville’s sprawling outdoor landscape, a thriving downtown area, and local community members.

The Explore Asheville team also worked on attracting visitors for the winter shoulder season by showcasing an array of key events, including the SoCon Basketball Championships and an Asheville Symphony Orchestra concert with Grammy-nominated musician Gregory Alan Isakov in March.

In addition to promoting events, Explore Asheville collaborated with Allegiant, the largest air carrier to Asheville’s markets, on marketing direct flight markets, as well as releasing an influencer campaign in the future.

Credit: Photo by Fiasco Media, Stephan Pruitt. Courtesy of Explore Asheville.

Looking Ahead: Giving Back with Voluntourism

In the months following the implementation of Always Asheville and Love Asheville From Afar, Explore Asheville transitioned to promoting more voluntourism efforts, setting the groundwork to involve visitors in Asheville’s long-term revitalization. The Explore Asheville team sees voluntourism as a growing trend and released an article highlighting multiple programs, including a cleanup in the River Arts District and the preparation of locally sourced meals for community members dealing with food insecurity.

Drawing a Framework for the Future

Tackling unprecedented challenges, Explore Asheville’s initiatives and problem-solving efforts act as solid foundations for how destination marketing organizations can traverse beyond tourism to participate in community restoration. While there is still work to be done for some areas of Asheville after the hurricane, the team is currently working on bringing back a sense of normalcy. Moving forward from Hurricane Helene, Explore Asheville has since collaborated with partners for plans such as date night activities and a hotel week to help spur additional economic activity.

Beyond economic impact, Explore Asheville’s role in the recovery also strengthened community trust. A 2025 Resident Perspectives on Tourism Survey revealed that 92% of Buncombe County residents believe tourism benefits their community — an 8% increase from the previous year. This shift reflects growing recognition of Explore Asheville’s contributions during the hurricane response and its ongoing efforts to uplift local businesses, support recovery, and foster meaningful connections between tourism and quality of life.

“People are really starting to see our value,” said Greenstein. “Our efforts are appreciated, especially by local business owners and by residents who are realizing, ‘We actually do need visitors in order to keep all of these really nice amenities and establishments that we frequent.’ [We] are so fortunate so there's also been a perception shift of our value…It's unfortunate that this unprecedented storm happened, but I'm glad that this is one of the outcomes.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Visit Asheville | Asheville, North Carolina (@visitasheville)

We are witnessing the gumption, the grit and determination of this deeply-rooted community to rise. We are here for it.

Vic IsleyPresident & CEO, Explore Asheville