| Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners | February 19, 2020 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE:
* Visit NC's 'Firsts That Last' honored with STS Shining Example Award
* STS recognizes N.C. partners with awards
* TRAC coming to Polk County region next week |
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 | | | Nabors |
Visit NC's 'Firsts That Last' honored with STS Shining Example Award
Visit NC's "Firsts That Last" marketing campaign was recognized last week by Southeast Tourism Society with a Shining Example Award. The recognition was the Best Marketing award for organizations with annual marketing budgets of $500,000 or more. The Shining Example award was presented to Visit NC's André Nabors during STS's Connections, held in Little Rock, Ark.
Now in its second year, Firsts That Last was born from the insight that 83 percent of North Carolina's out-of-state overnight visitors are repeat visitors, meaning that once someone visits North Carolina, they're likely to return again. Visit NC and LGA set out to create affinity among first-time visitors via an emotional connection that would encourage them to become NC travelers for life.
Ultimately, Firsts That Last has become the foundation and inspiration for all of Visit NC's marketing. The campaign is inspiring interest and travel to the state at an increasing rate, as shown by web sessions, room demand and campaign attribution. Performance measures provided through leading location intelligence platform Arrivalist report an Arrival Lift of 47.8 percent, indicating those exposed to Visit NC's owned and paid messaging visited N.C. at a rate nearly 50 percent greater than those not exposed. |
| | | (l-r) Andrew Schmidt, Wright Tilley, Beverly Stewart, Andre Nabors, Angela Allen, Cory Hughes and Sierra Jones |
STS recognizes N.C. partners with awards STS recognized several N.C. partners during its Shining Example Awards last week in Little Rock, Ark. Granville County TDA won a Best Marketing Shining Example award for its "Uniquely Carolina" campaign, with a budget of less than $100,000. Beverly Stewart, with Pinehurst-Southern Pines-Aberdeen Area CVB, received the Beacon Award, recognizing outstanding tourism leadership across a career. STS's Marketing College also recognized several N.C. graduates: Brindley Faile, Haywood County TDA; McKenzie Graham, Young Strategies; Sierra Jones, Greenville-Pitt County CVB; and Frank Ruggiero with Grandfather Mountain. |
| | | A previous TRAC in Reidsville | |
TRAC coming to Polk County region next week
Next week. 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. |
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RetireNC popular with expo attendees in Connecticut
Visit NC's André Nabors, along with City of New Bern and Town of Edenton, promoted North Carolina as a retirement destination at the Ideal Living Resort & Retirement Expo in Stamford, Conn., this past weekend. The Expo drew more than 800 potential retirees from the region who were interested in exploring opportunities and conversing with exhibitors from across the Southeast. Attendees talked with experts from towns and community developers to gain insights and get answers to help plan, design and enjoy their retirement. North Carolina has consistently been one of the most requested states by the attendees. Visit North Carolina attended the Expo to continue its efforts to promote the N.C. Certified Retirement Community Program, which consists of Edenton, Elizabeth City, Jamestown/High Point, Johnston Co., Laurinburg, Lenoir, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, New Bern, Reidsville, Roanoke Rapids, Salisbury, Tarboro, Washington, and Winterville. For more information about the Certified Retirement Community Program or Visit North Carolina's marketing initiatives for retirement relocation, contact André Nabors at (919) 447-7771. |
Greenville selected as the new home of the Little League Softball World Series
Greenville has been selected as the new home of the Little League Softball World Series. This year's event will take place on Aug. 12-19 and all games will be broadcast live on the ESPN Family of Networks for the third year in a row. The 2020 tournament will see 10 teams competing, representing nine regional champions and the host team from the state of North Carolina. Starting in 2021, that field will expand to 12 teams, providing more players, families, and communities with this unique World Series experience. |
Vote for N.C. sites among Best Beer-related nominations
North Carolina has several destinations and an event among the nominations for 10Best's Readers' Choice Awards' Best Beer-related categories. Online voting by readers is now open via USAToday.com; click on the hyperlink to vote. Voting ends March 17 at noon.
Best New Brewery - Dssolvr, Asheville |
'How Raleigh became a hotbed of independent music'
In Rolling Stone magazine's new series, it looks at eight cities where live music has exploded - from legendary hubs like Chicago and Nashville, to rising hot spots like Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Portland, Maine. The latest falls into the second category: the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill "Triangle," where college radio isn't dead and collaboration is encouraged between artists, creating a sound you can't find anywhere else. The online article last week explained "How Raleigh Became a Hotbed of Independent Music," highlighting several music venues in addition to artists known for hip-hop, folk and electro-pop. |
Dennison new director for Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber
Terri Dennison is the new director for the Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce. She may be contacted at (910) 862-4368 or via tdennison@elizabethtownnc.org. |
Accommodations donating discarded hotel soaps saves lives
Hotels, B&Bs, vacation rentals and other lodging facilities can help save lives by donating their partially used soaps and bottled amenities to Clean the World Foundation. Thousands of children die worldwide each day due to diseases that could easily be prevented through proper hand washing. Clean the World Foundation has partnered with UPS to ship those discarded soaps to a processing facility at which they are sterilized and reprocessed into new bars of soap to be distributed to regions where soap is needed for disease prevention. Learn more about how your hotel or lodging facility can join the effort to help clean the world by visiting the Clean the World website and see their videos about the great work they are doing. For information about reducing waste and protecting the environment, contact NC GreenTravel Initiative program manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707) 8140. |
| | For the week of Feb. 20 on "North Carolina Weekend," explore Rocky Mount Mills and visit the River & Twine Tiny House in Rocky Mount. Discover Bolick & Traditions Pottery in Lenoir. Lift a glass at Botanist and Barrel Cidery in Cedar Grove. And the "House Special" samples the fare at Ken's Grill and NC Barbecue in La Grange. (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. | The number of room nights available for sale (supply) in commercial lodging properties in the state has grown 10 percent in the last 10 years. More than 156,000 rooms are available for sale each day in North Carolina. For more North Carolina visitor information, visit Lodging Reports, or contact Visit NC' Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748. |
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Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events
Feb. 27 - Visit NC TRAC, Columbus March 8-11 - Travel South Showcase, Baton Rouge, La. March 17 - Visit NC Travel & Tourism Board Meeting, Raleigh |
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