| Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners | March 1, 2017 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE:
* TRAC in Montgomery County/Uwharrie region next week * Wear your jersey to Visit NC 365's opening night reception
* Strong interest in retirement to NC at New Jersey expo
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 | | | A previous TRAC in Dunn |
TRAC in Montgomery County/Uwharrie region next week
Next week, on March 9, tourism-related businesses in the Montgomery County/Uwharrie region 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 in Building 100, Room 104 at Montgomery Community College, 1011 Page St. in Troy. 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. |
| | | The opening reception in Cherokee last year |
Wear your jersey to Visit NC 365's opening night reception
Join colleagues from across the state in Greenville for the Visit NC 365 Conference, March 19-21. Visit Greenville is hosting the opening reception, Pigs, Pints and Pirates, on Sunday evening, designed to help everyone reconnect and catch up, while presenting a impressive showcase of Greenville's pit masters, local brewers and school spirit. Attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite sports jersey and join us as we kick-off the conference Greenville-style. Visit Greenville is bringing a showcase of local beer, wine and spirits and there will be a cash-bar for anyone with specific tastes. Breweries include The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Trollingwood Taproom & Brewery, and Uptown Brewing Company. Wine will be served, in tasting glasses, from Seven Pines Vineyard & Winery, along with a special Pirate Punch! Don't forget to grab your pint glass as you enter the event, take a photo with Steve the Pirate and tag #VisitNC365 for all your fans. Don't miss this year's Visit NC 365 Conference at the Greenville Convention Center. In addition to the powerful keynote speakers and educational programs scheduled, the conference provides a number of opportunities for networking among tourism professionals. There's no better opportunity than Visit NC 365 to network with more than 500 of the state's tourism industry leaders and gain insights into North Carolina's growing travel industry. |
 Strong interest in retirement to NC at New Jersey expo
Visit NC's André Nabors, along with Edenton TDA, Laurinburg TDA and Lumberton Visitor Bureau, promoted North Carolina as a retirement destination at the Ideal Living Resort & Retirement Expo in Bridgewater, NJ, this past weekend. The Expo drew more than 870 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. To date, 15 towns have been certified through the program: Asheboro, Eden, Edenton, Jamestown/High Point, Laurinburg, Lenoir, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, New Bern, Pittsboro, Reidsville, Sanford, Tarboro 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. |
| | | The whiteboard was popular for attendees to use for their NC dream vacation plans |
Canadians learn more about NC at Outdoor Adventure Show
This past weekend, Visit North Carolina's Canada office participated in the Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show. The event took place during three days and saw more than 28,000 outdoor enthusiasts from the Greater Toronto Region. To showcase and promote North Carolina's adventure offerings, more than 2000 pieces of collateral were distributed including guides, maps, sunglass holders, buffs and bags. A cycling prize giveaway (courtesy of Transylvania County) and an interactive whiteboard initiative at the booth lead to more than 200 contest entries and multiple social media mentions. To learn more about partnership opportunities in Canada, contact Heidi Walters at (919) 447-7762. |
 Visit NC WeChats in China
Due to the double digit growth in Chinese visitation to the state, Visit North Carolina began weekly posts in January on its new WeChat channel. WeChat is the largest social media platform in the world and the "go-to" for potential Chinese visitors. Previous posts have covered destination cities, movies made in NC, culture and golf. Moving ahead, the lineup for March will be shopping, music festivals and state parks. In 2015, North Carolina welcomed 55,748 Chinese visitors, a 24 percent increase compared to 201,4 and $41 million in spending, an increase of 21 percent - making the Chinese market the #1 overseas market for visitor spending. For more information on Visit North Carolina's international programs, contact Heidi Walters at (919) 447-7762. |
 Visit NC's PR efforts lead to New Bern among '25 of the Most Charming Small Towns in America for Weddings'
New Bern is included among CountryLiving.com's "25 of the Most Charming Small Towns in America for Weddings." Visit NC's PR team did proactive pitching and had ongoing conversations with the writer. The online story reached an audience of 10,609,000 readers and was also shared across the outlet's Twitter page for an additional reach of 469,000. Of New Bern, the article said, "If you and your spouse-to-be desire a place with significance, consider this small town that's rich in history. The Tryon Palace at the North Carolina History Center is a beautiful landmark and location for couples to celebrate their love." |
 Jensen named executive director for Mitchell County Chamber
Patti Jensen has been named the new executive director for the Mitchell County Chamber of Commerce. She may be contacted at (828) 765-9033 or via pjensen@mitchell-county.com. |
 March issue focuses on 'American History at Home'
The March edition of Our State magazine heralds focuses on "American History at Home." "City Portrait" highlights Morganton; "Hotels & Inns" profiles The Jefferson Inn in Southern Pines; "Restaurant" features the women at Flo's Kitchen in Wilson; "Wineries & Breweries" visits Cypress Bend Vineyards in Wagram, and "Bakery" spotlights Stick Boy Bread Company in Boone. The March issue is on sale now. |
Surveys, Industry, Marketing & Travel Trends
Hotels create a buzz with bee, honey programs - Farm-to-table dining and sustainability are all the rage in hotel food-and-beverage operations these days, and hosting beehives is a natural fit, reports Hotel Management. The bees help pollinate the hotel gardens and the broader area, and the honey they create can be used in the on-site restaurants. It's also a tangible sign to guests that the hotel supports a green philosophy. Just last week, a farm-to-table restaurant located inside a Hilton in Chicago, announced that it is hosting a bee-themed culinary experience in March to celebrate the upcoming start of bee season and the launch of its new honeybee education campaign. The "B. Aware" Dinner consists of five courses, all made with and paired to mead (fermented honey) from a Chicago meadery. The "B. Aware" Campaign is a new initiative this year aimed at raising awareness on the declining honeybee populations. Planned 2017 initiatives for the B. Aware Campaign include a permanent beekeeper display and honeybee observatory inside the lobby, free public tours of the on-site hives (in full beekeeper suits), honey harvesting/extracting demonstrations and hosted seminars and speaking engagements at the restaurant and at local libraries, schools, television shows and more. Several Omni Hotels & Resorts properties are involved in beekeeping and incorporate their honey into culinary dishes and spa treatments. Recently, the company partnered with the National Honey Board to create a custom menu with honey-infused cocktails and fare. Hotels finding fitness areas get scant use - New research shows that while hotels continue to invest money in fitness space and equipment, fewer guests are spending the time to use it, rnotes Travel Weekly. According to a study on hotel-amenity usage published by the Cornell Center for Hospitality, while almost half of U.S. travelers visit hotels with the expectation of using on-site gym equipment, just 22 percent end up doing so. What's more, it seems that the wealthier the guest, the less likely he or she is to go to the hotel gym; fewer than 40 percent of the people who said they would use a luxury hotel's fitness center actually made good on those plans. As a result, when it comes to capital expenditures, hotel fitness equipment fails to pay for itself in the first year in the form of additional bookings spurred by the amenity, according to the study. In contrast, including amenities such as Wi-Fi and in-room bottled water generate enough additional revenue in the form of bookings to more than offset their first-year costs. |
Solar sensibility
The most obvious positive feature of solar energy is the sustainability component. Solar panels require minimal maintenance, produce no noise or air pollution, and can be installed out of sight on the roof. Generally, solar companies offer a 20-25-year warranty on their solar panels, and the real lifespan of the panels is typically between 30-40 years. There are federal tax credits that can be claimed for solar panel installation at the federal level and often at the state and local level as well. However, there are some shortcomings of solar power. Since the panels rely on sunlight, they do not collect nearly as much energy on cloudy days or at night, but still create a significant reduction in energy bills. For maximum efficiency the panels must face the sun directly, so it is best if rotating panels are installed. The efficiency of solar panels continues to increase with the discovery of less expensive components and technological advancements. One of the most significant advancements in 2016 was the ability to increase the efficiency of CdTe (cadmium tellurid) solar cells, which are much cheaper than the standard panel material. For more information about sustainability in the tourism industry, contact ECU Center for Sustainability Partnership Coordinator Kamara Jones at (252) 737-4312, or NC GreenTravel Initiative Manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140. |
| | On North Carolina Weekend for the week of March 2,step back in time at Historic Halifax in Halifax. Get your toes a-tappin' during the Sandy Ridge Bluegrass Show in Sandy Ridge. Check out the burgers at The Stackhouse Restaurant in Mars Hill. Explore Fort Dobbs State Historic Site in Statesville. And check out the scene at SoCo restaurant in Wilson. (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. | Regionally within North Carolina, it is estimated that the Piedmont Region welcomes the majority of international visitors (85 percent), followed by the Coastal Region (13 percent) and the Mountain Region (10 percent). Note that percentages do not equal 100 due to visitors who travel to multiple regions. German, Swedish and Swiss visitors are the most likely to visit multiple regions within the state. For more North Carolina visitor profile information, visit the Visitor Profile Studies, or contact Tourism Research Director Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748. |
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Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events
March 9 - Visit NC TRAC, Troy March 10-19 - South by Southwest Conference and Festivals, Austin, Texas March 12-15 - Travel South Showcase, Branson, Mo. March 14 - NC Sports Assn. Meeting, Charlotte March 16-17 - MPI-CC Meeting, Myrtle Beach, S.C. March 24-26 - Mountain-to-Sea Trail Annual Meeting, Elkin March 27-30 - NASC Sports Event Symposium, Sacramento, Calif. April 6 - MPI-CC Global Meetings Industry Day, Charlotte, Raleigh & Myrtle Beach April 6 - NC Coast Host Quarterly Meeting, Elizabethtown April 20 - Visit NC TRAC, Marion |
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