Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners | March 25, 2020 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE:
* Visit NC webinar tomorrow for N.C. tourism industry with COVID-19 resources * 'NC tourism industry could lose $50 billion due to coronavirus outbreak'
* Visit NC's Partners page offers resources regarding COVID-19 * NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery for Small Businesses |
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Visit NC webinar tomorrow for N.C. tourism industry with COVID-19 resources
Visit NC is offering a webinar tomorrow (Thursday) at 10 a.m. to update the tourism industry with information stemming from COVID-19 and how it's affecting the industry, as well as to offer resources to assist affected businesses. N.C. Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland will offer an overview of North Carolina's economy and also provide unemployment and re-employment news for the state. Visit NC's Wit Tuttell will discuss the state of the tourism industry in N.C. NC Restaurant & Lodging Association's Lynn Minges will provide an update on the current rules and regulations regarding restaurants and lodging. The EDPNC's John Loyack will discuss financial assistance options that are available for N.C. businesses. The webinar is expected to last an hour and you can pre-register for the event here.
During the next few weeks, Visit NC will be hosting a series of webinar programs that give an overview of the status of the industry, outline our plan going forward and introduce our co-op marketing program, as well as highlight crisis response efforts and give lessons on subjects such as crisis PR and research practices. These webinars are offered in lieu of the cancelled Visit 365 Conference and will be offered at no charge to members of the NC tourism industry. Tomorrow's webinar is the first in the series. The events will be recorded and available afterward.
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'NC tourism industry could lose $50 billion in 2020 due to coronavirus outbreak'
"Restaurants, hotels festivals - all taking a severe economic hit," reported WRAL (Raleigh) before interviewing Visit NC's Wit Tuttell for its "NC tourism industry could lose $50 billion in 2020 due to coronavirus outbreak." "Potentially, nearly 500,000 people could lose their jobs and it could cost the state $50 billion [in tourism] in one year," said Tuttell. "That's a catastrophic impact on the state." North Carolina attracts 50 million visitors each year, the segment noted. Tuttell continued, "50,000 businesses across the state are engaged in tourism." And it's not just affecting events - many now cancelled - or restaurants - down 78% in the last two weeks - or simply hotels, which have been hit particularly hard. "But you know those attractions, restaurants and hotels, they need laundry service, [maintenance workers], accountants and bankers," Tuttell pointed out. It's a ripple effect that, when one business goes out of business, it's likely to affect the livelihood of other businesses. |
Visit NC's Partners page offers resources regarding COVID-19
As North Carolina, the nation and the world battle the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Visit NC has gathered resources that can help partners navigate business relief, communications, advocacy, research and other needs. This information can be found on Visit NC's industry-facing website, partners.visitnc.com, with the COVID-19 resources specifically at https://partners.visitnc.com/covid-19-industry-resources. Visit NC will update this page with new resources as needed. |
NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery for Small Businesses
Golden Leaf Foundation and the NC Rural Center have just introduced a new loan program called NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Loans. The new product is a rapid recovery loan that is designed to provide businesses with the capital they need before federal loans and insurance payouts are approved. The SBA process is an 8-21-day process. The process for this program is expected to be completed in four days (if all the info is provided). There is a very easy online application process that starts here. The EDPNC is a partner in this effort, and is offering additional NC Business Relief Resources. BLNC (Business Link North Carolina) is taking general questions at (800) 228-8443, Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. |
'Navigating Uncharted Territory' webinar
Adara is hosting a conversation with Lee Pillsbury, former Marriott senior executive and current managing director of travel and hospitality VC Thayer Ventures, which invests in early-stage travel and transportation technology startups. Carolyn Corda, CMO of ADARA, will also present the latest travel search and bookings data for hotels and airlines from the ADARA Traveler Trends Tracker, part of its COVID-19 Resources Center. The 45-minute webinar is scheduled for Thursday (tomorrow) at 11 a.m. Sign up for the webinar here. If you can't attend, you can sign up anyway and Adara will send you a recording. |
Tourism marketers enter wait-and-see mode to avoid tone-deaf campaigns
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NC sites included in 'Visit all 50 states with these virtual tours'
Visit NC's PR team shared a media query via HARO asking for information from partners offering virtual tours due to travel restrictions implemented at many cities and states. NC partners responded enthusiastically and quickly, leading to several NC inclusions in "Visit All 50 States With These Tours," published by the TV Traveler. The article included the NC Zoo's three-times-a-week live streaming on Facebook and Clayton Parks & Rec's programming, such as a gardening tutorial. Also noted were multimedia tours of Wilmington and Durham, both using the immersive sky-to-ground technology from SkyNav, plus a slide show of panoramas from Jackson County. |
| | For the week of March 26 on "North Carolina Weekend," check out Surry County's plans to celebrate its Sestercentennial (250 years, 2020-2021). Experience The Hackney in Washington. Lift a glass at Linville Falls Winery in Linville Falls. And enjoy a visit to Bryson City. (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's Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748. |
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Resources for travel industry regarding COVID-19
As the travel industry is facing challenging times in the ever-changing situation of COVID-19 and its effects, there are several useful resources available to help with information, communications, planning and guidance. |
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