Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners
July 19, 2017
IN THIS ISSUE:
*  TRAC coming to Dobson/Surry County
 region tomorrow
*  Visit NC PR pitch leads to Sam Jones BBQ among 'Great American Barbecue Bucket List'
*  Partners.VisitNC.com website reminder
A previous TRAC in  Swan Quarter
TRAC coming to Dobson/Surry County region tomorrow

Tomorrow (Thursday), tourism-related businesses in Dobson and the Surry County regional area - including 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 in reaching travelers, the media and increasing tourism visitation and spending. Visit NC's Tourism Resource Assistance Center (TRAC) is a community-based training program designed to help small tourism-related businesses. The TRAC event will be held 10 am - 2 pm at The Barn at Heritage Farm, 152 Heritage Farm Lane in Dobson.
 
There is no charge to attend, no reservation is required, and there are no PowerPoint presentations. This is a come-when-you-can/stay-as-long-as-you'd-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 NC'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 NC and its partners.

Representatives from the EDPNC's BLNC, N.C. Dept. of Commerce, N.C. Dept. of Natural & Cultural Resources and NC GreenTravel will also be 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 Andre Nabors at (919) 447-7771.
Visit NC PR pitch leads to Sam Jones BBQ among 'Great American Barbecue Bucket List'

Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville is the North Carolina designation by SouthernLiving.com for its "Great American Barbecue Bucket List." Sam Jones BBQ was one of the barbecue restaurant suggestions pitched by Visit NC's PR team to the writer. Of Sam Jones, the online article noted, "Sam Jones is a third-generation barbecue restaurateur, and in Jones-land, wood-smoked whole hogs reign. For the Chopped BBQ, crispy pork skin mixed with the meat is total perfection, but there's also smoked turkey, chicken, and spareribs well worth sampling. Between bites, pop the crispy North Carolina catfish bites, which are breaded by hand and fried by the order."
Partners.VisitNC.com website reminder

'Just a reminder to ensure everyone is aware of Visit NC's "industry-facing" website, Partners.VisitNC.com. The site serves as a resource for industry partners and stakeholders to obtain information related to the Visit NC strategic marketing plan, partner program opportunities, research and other industry updates.  For instance, when the county-by-county economic impact numbers are available next month, they'll be located under the Research section.  Site features include Visit NC's strategic marketing plan and information formerly found on nccommerce.com/tourism, as well as an opportunity for partners to sign up for NewsLink and view archived editions. To view the site and updated information, visit Partners.VisitNC.com
 
Partners, please bookmark Partners.VisitNC.com. It is now the only "industry-related" website for Visit NC and its partners. It replaces nccommerce.com/tourism, which is no longer maintained nor updated.
Shore receives CDME during DM annual conference

Visit NC's Director of Tourism Marketing Mark Shore received his CDME (Certified Destination Management Executive) certification during the annual conference for Destinations International (formerly DMAI), held last week in Montreal.
Andy Griffith Museum reopens after renovations

After being closed for three months due to a more than half-million-dollar renovation, the Andy Griffith Museum has reopened. The Mount Airy museum now has professional exhibits that trace the life of the "Sheriff of Mayberry." The revamped museum features exhibits built in the form of storefronts that house a total of at least 1,000 pieces of memorabilia collected by the late Emmett Forrest, a life-long friend of Griffith's. "The concept is strolling through Mayberry and various phases of Andy's life," said the Surry Arts Council's Tanya Jones, who added the plan was always to renovate with professional exhibits once the museum was established.

Nearly 20,000 expected at first-ever Raleigh Supercon this past weekend


A little bit of everything, from anime to wrestling to comic books were on display this past weekend at the Raleigh Convention Center for the first Raleigh Supercon. Inside the convention center, hundreds of vendors lined up to sell their products to eager customers. It was a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to reach a select clientele of nearly 20,000 people who were expected to flock to Raleigh for the first-time event. For the City of Raleigh, it expected to see an economic benefit of $1.8 million from this event, according to organizers and city officials. For first-timers at an event like this, the focus wasn't so much on the dollars they spend as it is the experience.
AVL kicks off new Paws for Passengers program

There are new ambassadors at Asheville Regional Airport, as AVL kicked off its new Paws for Passengers program last Friday. The program has pet therapy dogs and their handlers meandering through the airport terminal during busy times each week. "When asked why we started this new program at the airport, I immediately think about our region and how pet-friendly we are," said AVL's executive director, Lew Bleiweis. "It is a good fit for Asheville Regional Airport to have this program that allows certified pets in the terminal to help bring some cheer, welcome locals and visitors, perhaps calm some nerves and provide a unique passenger experience."
Vote for N.C. sites for best wine-related experiences

North Carolina has two towns among the nominations for two 10Best's Readers' Choice Awards: Best Health and Wellness Resort and Best Eco-Friendly Hotel. Online voting by readers is now open via USAToday.com's website. Click on the hyperlink to vote. Voting ends Aug. 14 at noon.
 
Best Wine Tasting Room - Raffaldini Vineyards & Winery, Ronda
 
Best Winery Restaurant - Harvest Grill at Shelton Vineyards, Dobson
 
Best Winery Tour - Biltmore Winery, Asheville
Dunbar now director for Thomasville TC

Jarrod Dunbar is now the director for the Thomasville Tourism Commission.  He may be contacted at (336) 472-4422 or via jdunbar@tvillenc.com.
Ugly, but delicious, affordable fruits and vegetables

Preventing food from going bad and composting what cannot be donated has received a lot of attention recently. However, what has gotten relatively little notice has been ugly produce. Restaurants can cut their costs by purchasing so-called "ugly produce," which is totally usable but, as the term implies, it may not look very as nice. Some ugly produce is called "seconds," which is produce that typically does not make it through the packaging line because vendors have aesthetics standards to meet. If produce is misshapen, bruised or too small/large, it may simply not make it to the retailer. The next time your restaurant produce buyer is choosing produce, suggest they choose the "ugly" produce. Ask the vendor for "seconds" to see if you can get a discount. Some grocery stores and food distributers offer discounted ugly produce programs. Farmers will appreciate if the market demands more "seconds" and a business's bottom line may appreciate it, too. To learn more about two local "ugly" produce programs, check out Imperfectly Delicious Produce(Compass Group)and the Unusual but Usable (FreshPoint/Sysco). Some chefs even repurpose what many would consider trash, such as using leafy carrot tops for plate garnish. To learn more about food recovery strategies, check out Food Recovery, or contact NC DEACS Organics Recycling Engineer Jorge Montezuma at (919) 707-8123. For information about the NC GreenTravel Initiative, contact Manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140.
On North Carolina Weekend for the week of July 20, North Carolina Weekend celebrates its 15th anniversary with a return to Southport, which was featured in its first show. Meet the artists at Lexington Glassworks in Asheville. Discover the challenges of the Blue Ridge Brutal in West Jefferson. Learn about "Horn in the West," the outdoor drama in Boone. And "After Dark" checks out Raleigh Beer Garden in Raleigh. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, UNC-TV has made recent editions of North Carolina Weekendavailable online.
The top states of origin of overnight visitors to North Carolina were in-state residents (37.0 percent), Virginia (10.3 percent), South Carolina (8.6 percent), Georgia (6.5 percent), Florida (5.0 percent), New York (3.8 percent), Pennsylvania (3.0 percent), Maryland (3.0 percent), New Jersey (2.8 percent) and Tennessee (2.8 percent). For more North Carolina visitor information, visit the Visitor Profile Studies or contact Tourism Research Director Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748.
Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events

July 20 - Visit NC's TRAC, Dobson
July 23-24 - AENC Annual Meeting, Winston-Salem
July 27-28 - MPI-CC Meeting, Winston-Salem
Aug. 21-22 - NC Restaurant & Lodging Assn. Expo, Raleigh
Aug. 21-23 - Connect Marketplace, New Orleans, La.
Aug. 22-25 - Travel Media Showcase, Concord
Aug. 25-29 - SYTA Conference, Albuquerque, NM
Aug. 26-29 - US Travel Assn.'s ESTO, Minneapolis, Minn.
Sept. 13-14 - Blue Ridge Parkway Assn. Fall Meeting, Little Switzerland
Sept. 16-20 - VMA/NCMA/MCASC Regional Meeting and Marketplace, Roanoke, Va.
Sept. 17-18 - NCTIA Tourism Leadership Conference, Charlotte
Sept. 28 - Visit NC TRAC, Washington
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