Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners

July 27, 2016

IN THIS ISSUE:

* Visit NC has new representation in Germany

* TRAC in Perquimans County region Aug. 11
* One Tree Hill convention designed by cast,

local film community


	Das Schmeckt is one of the German publications the Visit NC team met with

Visit North Carolina has new representation in Germany

Visit North Carolina has a new German trade and PR agency to represent the state for Visit NC's marketing efforts. Leib Management is now representing Visit NC in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Last week, Wit Tuttell, Heidi Walters and Scott Peacock travelled to Munich to meet with the new team members on the account and go through an onboarding/training program with them; Visit NC's 2016-'17 German market sales and marketing plan was also reviewed. While in Munich, the team also met with three German tour operators and six German magazines spanning culinary, luxury and golf travel. To find out more about Visit NC's international marketing program, contact Heidi Walters at (919) 447-7762; to find out more about Visit NC's public relations efforts, contact Scott Peacock at (919) 447-7783.


A previous TRAC in Swan Quarter

TRAC in Perquimans County region Aug. 11

On Aug. 11, tourism-related businesses in the Hertford/Perquimans County region - 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 North Carolina's Tourism Resource Assistance Center (TRAC), a community-based training program designed to help small tourism-related businesses, will be held 10 am - 2 pm at the Recreation Center, 310 Granby St. in Hertford.

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 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. 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 André Nabors at (919) 447-7771.

Ritchey retiring from I-26 East Welcome Center

Margaret Ritchey, manager of the I-26 East N.C. Welcome Center, is retiring Sept. 1. She has served as a valued member of North Carolina's Welcome Center program for 33 years and 9 months. Until her retirement, Ritchey can be contacted at (828) 894-2120 or via mritchey@nccommerce.com.

This year's One Tree Hill convention designed by cast, local film community

"Inside OTH," held this past weekend in Wilmington, was the fourth local One Tree Hill convention to spring up in the last 18 months. But it's the first to rise directly from the Wilmington film community - three previous "Return to Tree Hill" conventions were organized by a Florida-based company. After speaking with several cast members, crew and writers last summer, organizer and OTH alum Beth Crookham said they began contemplating how a convention would function if they could run it. The "Inside OTH" fan experience might run similar to past conventions but this year offered trolley tours around Wilmington to filming locations led by supporting cast members. Plus the sure-to-be-lengthy autograph line wasn't tucked away in a back room but held in the lobby for maximum photo potential for passerbys. Props straight from the crew were on display for fans, with some part of a raffle.

Cherokee, Harrah's break ground on new bowling entertainment center complex

Officials and leaders from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, along with officials from Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort, broke ground last week on a new bowling entertainment center complex at the casino resort. The 50,000-square-foot Bowling Entertainment Center will consist of two floors. The first floor will contain 16 bowling lanes, a food and beverage outlet, and an arcade. The second floor will contain eight bowling lanes, a bar, and a potential food area. The Center is slated to open in late 2017.

Martin County historic church trail aims to bring tourism to the area

A newly-formed historic church trail highlights ten local churches in Martin County, all of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. Folks in Martin County hope the new trail will bring tourists to the area all while showcasing the rich history of eastern North Carolina. Each church will soon have a permanent marker with full details on its history. The county also has a geo-caching trail and will soon implement a quilt trail. The Martin County TDA has more information on its website.

Bicycling magazine returns to Brevard area for annual mountain bike test

For its annual review of mountain bikes, Bicycling magazine took the cycles for testing in DuPont State Recreational Forest and Pisgah National Forest. The results were in the July issue, which also included "Editors' Choice: Brevard, North Carolina." The side story asked, "What's so great about western North Carolina anyway?" then proceeds to mention the 300+ miles of trails in Dupont, including some that "arc through sun-dappled hickory and white pine forest on perfect flowy dirt." There's Pisgah, where the "trails get a little rowdier and less manicured with tricky, off-camber root sections and rocky step-downs." It also noted, "The riding is so good, it's the reason [Oskar Blues Brewery founder] Dale Katechis decided to pick Brevard as the location for his second brewery. The story concluded with, "Doesn't all that sound terribly bad? Yeah, you don't want to do that. After all, if you do, then you'll learn how truly amazing Brevard is - and then we won't have the place all to ourselves when we return."

Vote for Bistro at Biltmore for Best Winery Restaurant

The Bistro at Biltmore is among the nominations for 10Best's Best Winery Restaurant, as online voting by readers is now open via USA Today.com's website. Voting ends Aug 15 at noon.

August brings 'Sweetest issue ever'

In its August issue, Our State magazine features a variety of N.C.-made sweets across the state, ranging from Krispy Kreme doughnuts to candy by the pound to honey. "Native" spotlights the painted bunting, "City Portrait" highlights Wilson, and "The View from Here" looks at Yanceyville. The August issue is on sale now.

Surveys, Industry, Marketing & Travel Trends

The latest hotel amenity: Adult coloring books - Hotels are refusing to stay inside the lines as they offer exclusive adult coloring books as an unconventional amenity to help guests de-stress, reports USA Today. The interest in adult coloring books has spread significantly in the past year, so much so that the sale of coloring pencils increased in 2015 by 26.3 percent, according to Nielsen. And Aug. 2 has been named National Coloring Book Day. Morgans Hotel Group offers free at check-in an exclusive adult coloring book that highlights iconic aspects and moments at each hotel in the Morgans portfolio. One property in Texas has Texas-inspired coloring pages known as "mandalas," which feature local images like a guitar and a bat, as well as crayons. It is meant to allow business travelers a means of encouraging creativity during conference breaks. One New York hotel now sells a coloring and activity book, with New York-centric images created by a noted artist.

Your local hotel is trying to impress guests with a new amenity: You - Hotels are always eager to get people in the door, of course, whether to spend the night or their money at the bar. And catering wedding parties and banquets has long been central to the hospitality industry. But the newer trend is to focus on getting repeat business from a local following, reports The New York Times. So the innkeepers are sponsoring running clubs or organizing other attractions like author readings, art shows or musical performances. The effort includes making lobbies and lounges more inviting hangouts, rather than simply places to stare at your smartphone while awaiting a car to the airport. The theory is that a vibrant group of local patrons can make the hotel more attractive to out-of-town lodgers. For instance, one Fort Lauderdale resident who lives near the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. But he never sleeps there. Every Thursday evening after work, he joins a group formed by the hotel and a local running store for a 5K workout, followed by a post-run happy hour. It's part of a national "running concierge" program created by Westin, which is finding, as many hotel chains are, that a local clientele can help even out the ups and downs of the lodging business. And locals can even help out-of-towners feel more at home.

Hotel loyalty programmes: What may and may not work - In a recently published study, the researchers have explored how customers perceive different types of rewards and how those perceptions influence customer loyalty, reports eHotelier. Their particular concern lies in how that loyalty is expressed in terms of customer behaviour that supports the company. According to the researchers at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, relationship marketing is used by marketing firms to "develop and sustain long-term relationships with valued customers", and is "prevalent in the hospitality industry." The popularity of relationship marketing, for both companies and their customers, has led to a proliferation of loyalty and reward programmes designed to reward customers and make them feel "special, important and appreciated." The rewards offered by companies might be in the form of economic or social benefits. Hotels, for instance, might offer economic rewards in which, as the researchers put it, "members accumulate points to redeem for a free room, free food and beverage, and discounts," or social rewards that offer personalised services, preferential treatment and attention. The researchers explain that economic rewards help to build customer loyalty, especially among new members, by enhancing trust and commitment. Social rewards, in contrast, help firms to build relationships with their customers, because the customers perceive the benefits as rare and exclusive and thus "increase a sense of belonging and emotional attachment." In retail industries, economic rewards are generally considered to be more effective in boosting customer loyalty because members fear losing the economic benefits.

How saving water reduces your energy bill

For many businesses, water and energy are two separate utility bills but when you conserve water, you can also reduce your electric and gas bills because of the energy needed for hot water. One of the most common sources of hot water waste is at dishwashing stations, where an inefficient pre-rinse spray valve can waste as much as 180 gallons of water and 1.5 therms of energy for every 3 hours of use. (It takes about the same energy equivalent of 1.5 therms to boil 140 gallons of water.) Another simple way to reduce a business' hot water usage is to install aerators on faucets, which typically can easily screw on to existing fixtures and can save up $100 in annual energy and water costs. Repairing leaky plumbing equipment and fixtures and developing policies to conserve water will also help reduce energy bills. And not only will conserving hot water reduce those energy bills, but it will also reduce the load on the water heater, resulting in less wear and tear, which otherwise could lead to costly repairs. For more water saving tips, visit NC GreenTravel Initiative's Water Conservation page, or contact NC GreenTravel Manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140.

Due to PBS' coverage of the Democratic National Convention, North Carolina Weekend airs this Thursday (tomorrow) at 11 pm; the episode's repeat airings on Friday at 8:30 pm and Saturday at 10 am are on the regular schedule.

For the week of July 28 on North Carolina Weekend, experience a day of adventure in Rockingham County. Take in a race at County Line Raceway in Elm City. Get lost in the power of words at the Forest of Wake Storyfest in Wake Forest. Find something unique at the US 21 Road Market, starting in Harmony. And enjoy a day at the Zoo in Asheboro. (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.

Room rates in June 2016 topped $100 for the first time. At an average rate of $101.32, this was nearly 3 percent higher than the previous record set in 2015 for the month of June. For more information, contact Tourism Research Director Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748.

Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events

Aug. 11 - Visit NC's TRAC, Hertford

Aug. 16 - Visit NC Regional Listening Session, Boone

Aug. 17 - Visit NC Regional Listening Session, Lake Junaluska

Aug. 17-21 - NC Motorcoach Assn-VMA-MCASC Regional Meeting, Concord

Aug. 18 -BRNHA's Gather 'Round the Blue Ridge Annual Meeting, Asheville

Aug. 18-23 - SYTA Annual Conference, Orlando, Fla.

Aug. 23 - N.C. Travel & Tourism Board Meeting, Cary

Aug. 24 - Visit NC Regional Listening Session, Wilmington

Aug. 25 - Visit NC Regional Listening Session, Kinston

Aug. 25-27 - Connect Sports Marketplace, Grapevine, Texas

Aug. 29-30 - NCRLA Expo, Raleigh