The future of tourism in Beaufort County is bright, but there’s still more work to be done.

The county brought in more than $70 million in visitor spending in 2014, according to Lynn Wingate, executive director of the Washington Tourism Development Authority. County-by-county numbers for 2015 will likely be released around August.

Wingate said she views tourism promotion as similar to a plate spinner at the circus — once one plate is spinning as it should, it’s time to get another one spinning. It’s a multifaceted operation.

“The numbers are very impressive, and when you have events and attractions and a sense of place like we have, I’m very optimistic of what the future holds for tourism in Beaufort County,” she said.

Guests gathered at the Washington Civic Center Thursday night to celebrate the county’s tourism industry as part of National Tourism Week.

Wingate said WTDA has focused in on several assets of Beaufort County, including its attraction as a weekend destination and Washington as a wedding location. More recently, however, Wingate said they are focusing on the boating aspect of tourism, as well as trying to market other communities in the county besides Washington.

“There’s a new conversation in the works with the marinas and the boating community,” she said. “Not just people coming in off the Intracoastal Waterway, but people who are buying smaller boats and are looking for that place.”

The tourism authority isn’t doing it alone, however.

Belhaven Community Chamber of Commerce recently announced plans for promoting Belhaven as a boating destination, a campaign called “The Boats Stop Here.” Aurora continues to capitalize on the popularity of the Aurora Fossil Museum, with the museum’s festival coming up soon, and Bath residents are working to make the annual First Port Celebration a success.

Washington and the greater Beaufort County area tend to attract tourists from within North Carolina, so WTDA also tries to push name recognition in the Triangle region, especially.

“Being a small area, one challenge that we continue to face is the name recognition of our area,” Wingate said. “We have to continue putting our message out there, putting our name in front of an ever-changing audience.”

Although WTDA works long hours to promote tourism, meeting with advertising representatives and town leaders, Wingate said its partners provide vital support.

Washington Harbor District Alliance markets downtown Washington as a destination to “shop, dine and play,” and the Visitor Center/Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce handles the welcoming portion of things. Not only that, individual business owners do their part to make Beaufort County the place to be.

WTDA awarded its first Little Washington Tourism Partner Award to the Chamber of Commerce at Thursday’s event, to “recognize the business or individual who simply ‘gets it’ when it comes to tourism,” a press release stated.

“The Chamber has long been a champion of and cheerleader for tourism in our community,” Wingate stated in the release. “Not only are they among the first faces a visitor sees in Washington, the Chamber supports small businesses and entrepreneurial ideas, many that are related to or sprung up because of tourism in our community.”

The tourism authority will also present awards for customer service and hospitality each quarter starting in July.

“We’re hoping that we can, you know, do more in the area of cross promotion,” Wingate said. “We (WTDA) help promote the ideas that other people have.”