| Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners | February 12, 2020 |
|
| IN THIS ISSUE:
* Visit NC 365 promises intriguing break-out sessions
* U.K., Ireland travel show attendees learn about travel to N.C.
* TRAC coming to Polk County region Feb. 27
|
|
 | | | A breakout session at a previous Visit NC 365 Conference |
Visit NC 365 promises intriguing break-out sessions
The schedule for this year's Visit NC 365 Conference is packed with exciting speakers, including acclaimed journalist and entrepreneur Shane Snow. As Monday's keynote speaker, Snow will offer insights into innovation, teamwork and human behavior. Following the annual Visit NC Winners Circle Awards Luncheon, there are three notable sessions: Marketing and Research, PR and Executive. In addition, there will be breakout sessions on Monday and Tuesday exploring industry-interest topics such as Heritage Tourism; Crisis and Disaster Research; Hospitality Workforce Development; Promoting Your Area Through Arts & Music; and PR Metrics: Measuring Results Beyond Impressions; plus Tuesday's keynote speaker Paolo Mottola offers a deeper dive following his keynote. Visit NC 365 Conference is in Asheville March 22-24. The conference brings together more than 500 members of the tourism industry to discuss the latest trends and issues facing the industry and hear insights from other tourism industry professionals. The registration rate for the conference is $499/person. Click here to register. When you register, don't forget to share in the action with the hashtag #VisitNC365 on Twitter @NCTourism and Facebook @NCarolinaTourism.
For more information on the conference, contact Amanda Baker at (919) 447-7765. Sponsorship opportunities are also available; to learn more, click here. |
| | | Duncan McCubbin (rt) assisting a show attendee | |
U.K., Ireland travel show attendees learn about travel to N.C.
Visit North Carolina participated at three key overseas consumer travel shows - Manchester, Dublin and London. Visit NC has participated in these three shows for several years and the interest in the state has grown significantly, with direct and specific engagement with consumers. These shows provide a platform to engage with potential visitors, inviting their interest and to educate them on all that North Carolina has to offer in line with traditional vacation values and current market trends. The shows have proven to be a great success, with a number of attendees returning later to thank the Visit NC booth for its advice. For instance, one attendee returned this year for more specific information; she has been planning her trip for three years now but will now be spending three weeks in North Carolina in 2021. Visit NC's Project 543 continues to be a great sales tool and is popular with U.K. and Ireland consumers. The shows also demonstrate the latest consumer interests, trends and budgets, plus talking across generations. This, in turn, allows Visit NC to be informed and pass product information on to its tour operator partners for the forthcoming season. To find out more about Visit NC's international marketing efforts, contact Visit NC's Heidi Walters at (919) 447-4462 |
| | | A previous TRAC in Swan Quarter |
TRAC coming to Polk County region Feb. 27
On Thursday, Feb. 27, tourism-related businesses in Columbus and Polk County - plus the surrounding counties - will have an opportunity to work with Visit North Carolina staff to learn about its research, development and marketing services, and discuss best practices for reaching travelers, the media and increasing tourism visitation and spending. Visit North Carolina's Tourism Resource Assistance Center (TRAC) is a community-based training program designed to help small tourism-related businesses. TRAC will be held 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Polk Center at Isothermal Community College at 1255 W. Mills St. in Columbus. There is no charge to attend, no reservation is required, and there is no PowerPoint presentation. This is a come-when-you-can/stay-as-long-as-you-like event opportunity for all tourism-related businesses to meet one-on-one with program managers to discuss better ways to promote their property or event. TRAC brings Visit North Carolina's program managers to local communities to discuss the nuts and bolts of working with the organization. This invaluable program is designed to help tourism-related businesses engage more fully with programs offered by Visit North Carolina and its partners. Representatives from the EDPNC's BLNC, N.C. Welcome Centers/Visitor Services, N.C. State Parks, Agritourism, and NC GreenTravel are often on hand to discuss services they can provide businesses, including strategic planning, assisting with identifying funding sources and serving as liaisons with other local, state and federal agencies. For additional information on this session or to learn more about scheduling a TRAC visit to your community, contact Visit NC's André Nabors at (919) 447-7771. |
| |
Cycle North Carolina announces Mountains to Coast ride route
Cycle North Carolina has announced the route for the 22nd Annual Mountains to Coast ride, Oct. 3-10. This year's route starts in Sparta with stops in Mount Airy, Reidsville, Roxboro, Henderson, Smithfield and Clinton, and then finishes at North Topsail Beach. Nearly 1,000 bicyclists from across the U.S. and even outside the U.S. are expected to participate. View the video announcement here. Once again, RetireNC is a sponsor of this year's event. For the fifth year, Visit NC will be offering Cycle NC/Visit NC excursions. These daily excursions give participants and those traveling with them the opportunity to take a break from the ride and experience North Carolina. A dedicated motorcoach is being provided that departs from the overnight host city in the morning and stops at a few attractions and a destination for lunch each day before arriving at the next overnight host city in the late afternoon. Participants pay a fee to help offset costs to the attractions that host them. They will also have the opportunity to shop and learn more about the state for future visits. This is an opportunity to spread the economic impact of the Cycle NC ride to many more communities on or near the route of the ride. Visit North Carolina, under the previous mantle of the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film & Sports Development, is a founding sponsor of Cycle North Carolina's Mountains to Coast, Fall and Spring rides. Cycle North Carolina offers one of the largest cross-state bicycle tours in the United States. The Fall and Spring rides, in addition to the Mountain Ride in August, are designed to promote North Carolina's scenic beauty while providing substantial economic impact to small towns across the state. During the past 22 years, Cycle North Carolina has stopped overnight in more than 100 North Carolina towns and visited nearly 700 North Carolina communities. |
Forbes Travel Guide Star Awards includes N.C. sites The Umstead Hotel in Cary is among 5-Star Hotels. Herons at The Umstead Hotel is recognized among 5-Star Restaurants. In addition, The Umstead Spa is among 5-Star Spas. Among 4-Star Hotels are Fearrington House Inn in Pittsboro. Inn on Biltmore Estate in Asheville and Old Edwards Inn in Highlands. The 4-Star Restaurants include the Dining Room at Inn on Biltmore Estate and Fearrington House Restaurant. The Spa at Fearrington is among 4-Star Spas. Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Hotels include The Ballantyne in Charlotte, The Carolina Hotel at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, The Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, Sanderling Resort in Duck, and Washington Duke Inn in Durham. Recommended Restaurants include BLT Steak at The Ritz-Carlton, Fairview Dining Room at Washington Duke Inn, Gallery at The Ballantyne, and Madison's Restaurant and Wine Garden at Old Edwards Inn. |
| |
N.C. has many hotels among 'Best in the USA' U.S. News & World Report has released its Best Hotels in the USA for 2020, which includes numerous categories. Within the top 400 of the Best Hotels in the USA, The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary ranked #137, Old Edwards Inn and Spa in Highlands #156. the Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte #231, Fearrington House Inn in Pittsboro #306, and The Ivey's in Charlotte #364. The Inn on Biltmore Estate in Asheville ranked #150, Sanderling Resort in Duck #155 and Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville #183 among the top 200 of the Best Resorts in the USA. The following N.C. sites are among the top 100 in each of the stated categories. Fearrington, O. Henry Hotel in Greensboro, Haywood Park Hotel in Asheville, and Duke Mansion in Charlotte are among the Best Hotels with Free Breakfast. Old Edwards, The Ballantyne in Charlotte, Grandover Resort in Greensboro and Pinehurst Resort's Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst are among the Best Golf Hotels. The Umstead and Ritz-Carlton are among the Best Spa Hotels. The Umstead and Old Edwards are among the Best Hotels with Free Parking. The Umstead, Old Edwards and Fearrington are among the Best Boutique Hotels. The Umstead, Fearrington and O. Henry are among the Best Hotels with Airport Shuttle Service. And The Umstead is among the Best Pet-Friendly Hotels, Best Wedding Hotels, Best Business Hotels, and Best Fitness Hotels. |
Bryan new executive director for Sanford TDA
Wendy Bryan is the new executive director for the Sanford TDA. She may be contacted at (919) 718-4659 ext. 1401, or via wendy.bryan@sanfordnc.net. |
The cost of sustainability
One of the first questions many owners and managers ask when deciding if their property should implement sustainable practices is what is it going to the cost? There are three different ways in which the cost of going green can be calculated. The first is the initial cost. For many sustainable practices, such as establishing a green team or setting copiers and printers to default to print double-sided, the initial cost is only staff time. New creative strategies, such as solar power purchase agreements, can allow a property to use solar energy at no initial cost. The next way the cost of going green can be measured is the payback period. This is the amount of time it will cost for a green practice to result in the same financial cost savings as the initial cost premium of implementing the practice. For some sustainable practices, such as LED exit signs, the payback period can be as short as one year. Since there are many criticisms of the payback period, many experts prefer the third method of measuring the cost of implementing sustainable practices: return on investment (ROI). Calculating the full ROI of implementing sustainable practices can be difficult though. Factors such as improved staff morale or PR can be difficult to link to one specific sustainable practice. There are a number of resources and calculatorsthat can help determine the cost of going green. To learn more about the NC GreenTravel Initiative or for technical assistance, contact NC GreenTravel program manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707) 8140. |
| | For the week of Feb. 13 on "North Carolina Weekend," visit a revitalized downtown Wilkesboro. Tee it up at Drive Shack in Raleigh. Explore the N.C. Pottery Center in Seagrove. And tempt your taste buds at The Flying Melon Café in Ocracoke. (Check local listings; segments are subject to change.) "North Carolina Weekend" is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, UNC-TV has recent editions of "North Carolina Weekend" available online. | Revenues in North Carolina's commercial lodging properties topped $4 billion for the first time in 2019. Revenues increased 4.2 percent from 2018 to 2019. For more North Carolina visitor information, visit Lodging Reports, or contact Visit NC's Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748. |
|
Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events
Feb. 13 - NC Coast Host Meeting, Morehead City Feb. 27 - Visit NC TRAC, Columbus March 8-11 - Travel South Showcase, Baton Rouge, La. March 17 - Visit NC Travel & Tourism Board Meeting, Raleigh |
|
|
|
|
