Asheville's Transformational New Offerings

Explore Asheville celebrates a record year in group travel bookings, as the destination continues its ascent as one of the most inspiring cities for meetings and events.

2026 is slated to be a strong year for Asheville, North Carolina, a city home to newly recognized MICHELIN restaurants, the return of the PGA TOUR, a purpose-built bike park with North America’s largest pump track, cultural and creative offerings, and more. It’s also been a record-breaking year for Asheville, as group business in the Blue Ridge Mountains booms.

Keep reading to learn more about the new offerings, strategic gains, and well-timed momentum the city says heralds a promising year ahead for group travel.

GROUP TRAVEL WINS

In fiscal year 2025, meetings and group travel booked through Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority generated $67.4 million in direct spending, a 35% increase over the previous year. The team secured 477 events and groups, a 15% rise, while group room bookings grew 39% to 115,393 room nights across participating lodging partners. The gains reinforce Asheville's upward trend heading into 2026 and support a full calendar of high-profile conferences, sports championships and cultural moments. 

"When a community moves with purpose, it creates momentum that lasts," said Vic Isley, President and CEO of Explore Asheville and the Authority. "Today’s group travelers want experiences they can share and a destination that feels deeply rooted to its place. Asheville's artistic culture and mountain setting make immersion easy and meaningful. As we look ahead, we're focused on welcoming more groups in ways that support visitors and our community."

Asheville enters 2026 ready for key trends and gatherings that will define the city's meetings and events story in the coming year. 

WHAT’S NEW

• PGA TOUR returns to Asheville: After more than eight decades, professional golf makes a celebrated comeback with the inaugural Biltmore Championship in Asheville, held September 17–20 at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. The Jack Nicklaus- designed course, framed by Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway, ranks among North Carolina's finest and sits just minutes from downtown.
• High-profile sports draw fans to the Blue Ridge Mountains: In addition to the PGA TOUR, Asheville is adding major national championships that create energy and visibility for groups meeting in the city. Groups can get excited come March 5–9 with the return of the Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championships to Harrah’s Cherokee Center–Asheville and the Explore Asheville SoCon Wrestling Championships to UNC Asheville. In May, McCormick Field hosts the Big South Baseball Championship as the ballpark—home to the Asheville Tourists—wraps a $55.6 million centennial restoration, and UNC Asheville’s renovated Karl Straus Track welcomes roughly 1,300 student-athletes for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.
• Airport expansion advances with major milestone: The Asheville Regional Airport opened the first section of its new North Concourse in June, marking visible progress in its $400 million terminal transformation. The concourse features up to eight gates, expanded seating areas, refreshed concessions and modern amenities shaped by the surrounding mountain landscape. Construction on the South Concourse is underway and expected to open at the end of 2027.
• New routes strengthen air access: For groups looking to make Asheville their home, the airport now offers nonstop service from 26 destinations around the country. Allegiant’s June launch of nonstop service to Washington Dulles and Delta’s new Saturday and Sunday direct flights to Boston Logan International Airport strengthen connectivity as the airport continues to grow.
• New sensory spectacle illuminates Biltmore: An evening experience from March 26 to October 18, Luminere is set to transform America’s Largest House and gardens into a luminous dreamscape. The installation projects moving imagery set to a custom score by Julian Grefe that is performed by the Asheville Symphony. Guests can enhance the evening with artisan picnics on the grounds or exclusive guided tours of the house, making Luminere a wholly immersive and unforgettable way to see Biltmore in a new light.
• Asheville Art Museum sheds light on Impressionism’s American chapter: In thoughtful harmony with Biltmore’s Luminere, the museum’s upcoming exhibition, In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870-1940, brings together works by more than 75 artists to trace how Impressionism took root in the U.S. and evolved into a distinctly American style February 6-June 9. The museum can support receptions, guided walk-throughs or themed breakout sessions for art-focused engagement.
• Mindful movement on the rise: From classes paired with a wood-fired sauna to sunrise vinyasas on a mountaintop, Asheville’s wellness scene offers a variety of ways to unwind on the mat. Goats optional.  

FOOD-FOCUSED FUN

• 15 Asheville restaurants get MICHELIN Guide honors: Asheville’s food scene garnered impressive recognition in the “MICHELIN Guide to the American South,” with a mix of full private-dining venues, catering options and strong dine-around choices.
• Bold returns in 2026: After devastating floods, two local favorites are making their return: Sugar & Snow Gelato, reopened in November 2025, and Guajiro Cuban Comfort Food, set to reopen at Cotton Mill Studios in spring 2026. Until then, Cuban sandwiches and pastelitos can be enjoyed at Guajiro’s food truck parked at Hi-Wire Brewing in Biltmore Village.
• Comforting and casual takes hold in 2026: A wave of new delis, diners and bodegas reveals Asheville’s quieter, more grounded side. They join a constellation of upscale neighborhood haunts that earned MICHELIN nods, each offering visitors a chance to slip into the easy cadence of local life.

EXPLORE ASHEVILLE: YOUR PARTNER IN PLANNING

If you’re looking for specific trip planning and itinerary insight, our friends at Explore Asheville you’re your back. Asheville presents a mix of hybrid-ready spaces, wellness-focused retreats and culinary choices that work well for groups, often with customizable activities, such as voluntourism opportunities, that teams can do together.

Visit AshevilleMeetings.com for more.

Courtesy of Groups Today.

Photo courtesy of Explore Asheville.