| Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners | March 20, 2019 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE: * Visit NC 365 offers useful breakout sessions
* Visit NC's Canadian golf fam leads to golf in the spotlight
* D.C. Travel & Adventure show sees strong interest in N.C.
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 | | | A break-out session at a previous Visit NC 365 |
Visit NC 365 offers useful breakout sessions on GDPR, festivals & events, film site selection and more The Visit NC 365 Conference offers a host of topics for the concurrent sessions on Monday, April 1, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. and 3-4 p.m. Hear from industry experts on topics ranging from working with the N.C. Welcome Centers and Call Center, festival & event economic impacts, shared and commercial lodging, cultural tourism, film site selection, crafting your message, and General Data Protection Regulation. While each offers a unique and educational topic, be sure to stop by the GDPR session to learn of upcoming privacy regulations and impacts to your business. This topic isn't just a trending issue, it will be impacting businesses globally by the year 2020. Learn how to manage your data more effectively, internally and externally. It's not too late to register for the Visit NC 365 Conference with the late registration rate of $525/person for the conference, March 31- April 2 in Wilmington. 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. |
D.C. Travel & Adventure Show sees strong interest in N.C.
This past weekend, Visit NC attended the Travel & Adventure Show in Washington, D.C., partnering with the Outer Banks VB, Boone TDA, Greenville CVB, High Point CVB, Johnston County VB, Cabarrus County CVB, Lexington TA, Heart of North Carolina VB and Yadkin Visitors Center The booth had solid traffic throughout the consumer travel show, which saw an attendance of more than 16,000. Visit NC will be developing a schedule for 2020 Travel & Adventure Shows in the coming months. These shows offer additional opportunities for Visit NC - and its interested partners - to promote travel to North Carolina to potential visitors who are actively looking for travel suggestions and information. Partners interested in participating in any of the 2020 shows should contact André Nabors at (919) 447-7771. |
Visit NC's Canadian golf fam leads to golf in the spotlight Visit NC's PR efforts have resulted in the Toronto Sun's "Great golf and grub within grasp in North Carolina," which also ran in several sister publications. The article was the result of Visit NC's Canadian golf media tour this past December, which the writer attended. Working with partners at Brunswick County TDA, Greensboro Area CVB, Pinehurst-Southern Pines-Aberdeen Area CVB and Visit Raleigh, the Canadian golf media group was able to play several golf courses and experience other aspects of each partner's area, such as dining. |
| | A previous TRAC in Edenton | |
TRAC coming to Alamance County region April 18
On April 18, tourism-related businesses in Alamance 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 in 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 Drury Inn & Suites, 1767 Glidewell Drive in Burlington. 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'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. 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 André Nabors at (919) 447-7771. |
Breweries, destinations gear up for NC Beer Month
NC Beer Month returns April 1 with even more terrific opportunities for partners and enthusiasts to celebrate #ncbeer. For the seventh annual celebration of the state's craft beer and the destinations where it thrives, travelers can sample beer from more than 280 craft breweries while experiencing the local flavor of more than 100 cities, towns and communities from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Outer Banks. This year, the NC Beer Guys are once again the primary source for events and travel deal listings. N.C. breweries, restaurants, bottle shops and other beer-focused entities can directly submit information about dinners, tastings, festivals and other events via the form at ncbeerguys.com/contact, selecting "Would like to add an NC Beer Event" in the Subject line. They've also added a new page for all things NC Beer Month that will showcase all the cool things on tap. For questions, contact Nick Parker with Visit NC at (919) 447-7787. |
Bagels in Asheville, Raleigh in the spotlight
CNN Travel offered "The Southern city that aims to make better bagels than New York City," which spotlighted Button & Co. Bagels in Asheville. Chef Katie Button spoke of what drew her to create bagels and how she's adapting them to the South. ""We really want our bagels to have a sense of place. That's really important," said Button. "I didn't just want to bring New York to southern Appalachia." In addition, the article mentioned Benchwarmers Bagels, part of Raleigh's new Transfer Co. Food Hall. |
Durham 'Is the Next Hipster Hotspot'
Fodor's Travel notes of Durham: "This Southern City Is the Next Hipster Hotspot." The article explains, "With its new boutique hotels, inventive restaurants, and internationally known music and film festivals, Durham is now claiming a prominent spot on [what's 'cool' in the South]." |
Family trip leads to Great Smoky Mountains NP exploring A writer and her husband, traveling from their home in Paris to visit family in the U.S., wanted to introduce their two children to camping, but not far from family in Virginia. The family's experiences, written in "A backcountry refuge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park," included seeing elk, black bear, deer and even butterflies, plus numerous historic but abandoned structures. |
Duke Chapel among '51 amazing university and college buildings across the USA' As part of its "50 States" series, USA Today selected Duke Chapel, at Duke University is Durham, as the North Carolina designation for its "51 amazing university and college buildings across the USA." Of the selection, the photo gallery noted, "Duke University Chapel, with a tower that rises 210 feet, is built of multihued stones from a nearby quarry. Designed by Julian Abele and dedicated in 1935, the chapel represent last great collegiate Gothic projects in the United States." |
Creating a sustainable landscape, inviting grounds
Whether maintaining a lawn, garden or simply flower pots on a sidewalk, most businesses have some sort of landscaping. With spring now here, bringing its greening along with floral colors, businesses should take time to ensure their exteriors and grounds are as inviting as possible to potential visitors. NC GreenTravel offers a Landscaping webpage, with many suggestions and methods to create a more sustainable landscape. The primary goals of sustainable landscape design are to conserve water and energy, reduce waste and decrease runoff. There are several principles to be observed. Those include conserving water, preserving existing natural plants, keeping soil loose to avoid runoff, and conserving material resources to minimize yard waste. Xeriscaping is a great way to conserve water by planting drought-resistant plants, meaning there is low maintenance, and fertilizers and pesticides can be eliminated, and it helps to create a wildlife habitat. A well-designed landscape can also add value to your property. For further information on sustainable landscaping, contact NC GreenTravel manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140. |
| | For the week of March 21 on North Carolina Weekend, lift a glass at three sites in the Chatham Beverage District in Pittsboro. Take in a show at The 1915 and then explore the Blue Ridge Artisan Center in Wilkesboro. As it celebrates its 75th anniversary, discover the Hickory Museum of Art and its Elliott Daingerfield exhibition. And the "House Special" samples the fare at the Marabella restaurants in Washington and Greenville. (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. | Visitors from China represent 4 percent of total international visitors to North Carolina, but 9 percent of total international spending. For more North Carolina visitor information, visit the Partners Research page or contact Tourism Research Director Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748. |
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Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events
through March 21 - STS Connections / SETTRA Meeting, Daytona Beach, Fla. April 2-5 - AFCI Week, Los Angeles April 18 - Visit NC's TRAC, Burlington May 2 - NC Coast Host Annual Meeting, Surf City May 5-11 - National Travel & Tourism Week, nationwide May 7 - Visit NC Travel & Tourism Board Meeting, TBD May 12-17 - STS Marketing College, Dahlonega, Ga. |
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