RALEIGH -- North Carolina's now the sixth most popular spot for tourism in the United States.

The tourism industry celebrated that fact Tuesday at the state legislature. The industry brings in billions of dollars and thousands of jobs across the state, but you might be surprised where most of those dollars are spent.

"Tourism in North Carolina really is a statewide business," Lynn Minges from the Division of Tourism said. "We've looked at the numbers and a 100 counties in North Carolina benefit from tourism revenues.

Last year, tourists spent more than $15 billion, which is 8 percent more than 2005. The industry also employs nearly 200,000 people.

While you may think the beaches and mountains bring in a majority of the tourism dollars across the state, that is simply not the case. In fact, the state's biggest cities bring the biggest amount of money.

In fact Mecklenburg, Wake, and Guilford counties are the top three counties when it comes to visitor spending. That's why tourism officials celebrated the industry Tuesday using NASCAR in Raleigh.

"Our cities are getting so much more attention because we have so much more to offer, but visiting family and friends is the number one reason," Hedrick added.

And the cities continue to do more. Charlotte is building the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and most believe it could have an impact across the state.

"This gives them a place to say, 'We've got to go the NASCAR Hall of Fame,' and then they can go to other places, not just throughout the Charlotte region but all across the state," NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley said.

The reports served as a reminder to everyone that beaches and mountains are great vacation spots, but the cities are bringing in the most money. Statistics show 45 million people visited the state last year and paid more than a billion dollars in state and local taxes.