(RALEIGH) -- North Carolina tourism officials are holding their breath waiting to see if Irene's damage on the coast hurts travel this Labor Day weekend. Lynn Minges, Assistant Secretary for Tourism said business owners are hoping for the best.

"Folks along the coast are recovering and I think a part of that recovery is getting back to business as normal. Most of our coast is very dependent visitors and tourism, particularly this time of year leading into Labor Day and so they're asking us to get the word out that they are open and ready for visitors and ready to get back to life as normal," said Minges.

The beaches are North Carolina's top tourism destination, worth hundreds of millions in business last year. Minges said that on average people spend about $7 million a day in the coastal region of the state.