Weekly e-newsletter for Visit NC partners, March 3, 2021 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE:
* Registration now open for the Visit NC 365 virtual conference * Count On Me NC recognized with ‘Best of Show, other Gold, Silver awards * N.C. Travel Guide Road Show sees unique ideas, strong partner participation * Visit NC ‘at’ STS’ Domestic Discovery |
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Registration now open for the Visit NC 365 virtual conference Registration is now officially open for the annual Visit NC 365 Conference. Brought to you virtually this year April 21-22, each half-day session includes stimulating keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and the reveal of Visit NC’s newest marketing campaign. The Visit NC 365 Conference, named for the year-round tourism industry across the state, brings together more than 500 of the state's tourism industry leaders. This complimentary industry event will include two days of educational sessions and insightful programming. Find out more details, including a schedule of events, at visitnc365.com.
For more information on the conference, contact Amanda Baker. Sponsorship opportunities are also available; to learn more, contact Dana Grimstead. |
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Count On Me NC recognized with ‘Best of Show,’ plus Gold, Silver awards Visit North Carolina's "Count on Me NC” public safety initiative earned eight AAAwards (formerly the ADDYs) at Charlotte AAF's 2021 American Advertising Gala, held virtually Feb. 25. Crafted in collaboration with Visit NC's agency Luquire George Andrews (LGA) and launched in the spring of 2020 in partnership with NCRLA, NC DHHS and NC State Extension, Count on Me NC encouraged North Carolina residents and businesses to do their part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition to receiving the prestigious Best of Show Award and Best of Copywriting, "Count on Me NC" was recognized with three Gold and three Silver Awards in multiple categories, including Out-of-Home & Ambient Media; Film, Video & Sound; and Cross Platform. |
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N.C. Travel Guide Road Show sees unique ideas, strong partner participation Last week's North Carolina Travel Guide Road Show was a huge success, with partners providing strong presentations about what’s new or coming soon to their areas, in addition to what they’re working on promoting. Meetings with DMO partners from across the state took place virtually this year via regional sessions. These provided the Visit NC and Meredith Travel Marketing teams a variety of information on what's new and what's being promoted in the participating partners' areas. Each DMO did a presentation using the PechaKucha format, a timed style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total). A Q&A followed if there were questions for a presenter. This is the third year the Road Show has been offered, providing a unique and succinct way for partners to offer potential editorial ideas for consideration for the 2022 North Carolina Travel Guide. Meredith Travel Marketing contracts with Visit NC to produce the North Carolina Travel Guide. For more information about the N.C. Travel Guide Road Shows, contact Dana Grimstead at (919) 447-7761. |
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Visit NC ‘at’ STS’ Domestic Discovery Visit NC’s Amanda Baker, along with partners representing the Mountains, Piedmont and Coast participated in the Southeast Tourism Society’s Domestic Discovery last month. This two-day, virtual event was an online education, networking and itinerary development webinar for tour operators and suppliers. Each state had small group discussions with their state partners to educate group tour operators in a breakout room format. Participating partners included the Outer Banks VB, Jackson County TDA, Heart of NC VB, Alamance County VB, Lexington TA, and Cabarrus County CVB. In addition to meeting with group tour operators, Baker participated in the state-led history itinerary development session for group tour operators with neighboring states South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, plus Washington, D.C. For leads or more information on group travel, contact Amanda Baker at (919) 447-7765. |
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Visit NC's André Nabors, along with New Bern, Edenton, Johnston County and Laurinburg, promoted North Carolina as a retirement destination at the Virtual Ideal-Living Resort & Retirement Expo "in" the New England region Feb. 20-21 and Mid-Atlantic area this past weekend. The Expos had nearly 600 registered attendees from the New England (N.J., Mass., Conn. region and nearly 1,100 in the Mid-Atlantic region (D.C., Va., Md., Pa.) who were interested in exploring opportunities and engaging with exhibitors from across the Southeast. The Virtual Expo was set up for attendees to download materials, visit websites and watch videos of the exhibitors. In addition, attendees were able to chat, call or video chat 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, which consists of Carteret County, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Jamestown/High Point, Johnston County, Laurinburg, Lenoir, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, New Bern, Reidsville, Roanoke Rapids, Salisbury, Tarboro, Washington, 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. |
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N.C-filmed ‘Delilah’ has series premiere next Tuesday The N.C.-filmed “Delilah” will have its TV series season premiere next Tuesday (March 9). The series will air on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). “Delilah” filmed in – and is set in – the greater Charlotte area. The series was approved for the state’s film and entertainment grant fund and was expected to have a direct in-state spend in excess of $20 million. |
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Research shows nearly half of American travelers feel things will get better, a record high since pandemic began
This week brought notable declines in Americans’ concerns about contracting the virus and general optimism regarding the situation during the next month, reports Destination Analysts. Travel state-of-mind was at a record high, and nearly half of American travelers feel things will get better, also a record high. Americans also feel safer at home and with travel. Travel activities deemed as unsafe reached another record low at 43 percent. While the majority of travelers still feel unsafe with international travel and conventions, the proportion who feel unsafe with these activities are also at record lows. |
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Trips and travel plans are growing as sentiment improves. Fifteen percent of American travelers report that they made travel reservations in the last week, and more than 54 percent say they will be taking at least one leisure trip in the next three months. More than 84 percent of American travelers say they have at least tentative trip plans for the rest of 2021, with June through October being peak months for tentative travel. With the increase in trip planning, near-term lodging preferences have shifted from what they were early in the pandemic. Preference for hotels has increased from 41 percent last March to more than 48 percent this week. Twenty percent of Americans say they prefer a home rental. |
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Expectations regarding travel to metropolitan areas increased this week, with more than a third of visitors reporting they expect to visit this type of destination in the next three months. More than 35 percent report plans to visit small towns, villages or rural destinations. |
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Visit NC will be providing frequent research updates through Newslink with links to available studies. |
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Due to the pandemic, DMO partner presentations and visits to the Call Center have been suspended indefinitely. However, partners can still do virtual presentations for the Call Center and also the N.C. Welcome Centers. Virtual presentations ensure either or both staffs are informed about tourism developments and events for a particular area. Interested DMOs should contact Visitor Services Program Manager Wally Wazanat (919) 814-4649. If an attraction, accommodations or event would like to do a presentation, they should contact their local DMO to discuss arranging a session for multiple tourism partners in the area to participate. |
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Piedmont Legacy Trails Summit is virtual this year The Annual Piedmont Legacy Trails Summitis where trail advocates in the Piedmont Triad and across the North Carolina connect and learn. In 2021, the Summit will take place virtually during the four Fridays in March. Topics include Trail Funding Strategies and the Case for Community Health through Trails Each day will hold one educational zoom session in the morning with each week featuring a different speaker and topic relating to trails in the triad. The 2021 virtual Summit will be free to participants. |
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AH&LA Foundation announces $5 million, 5-year diversity plan The American Hotel & Lodging Association Foundation has announced a $5 million commitment and a five-year plan aimed at enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry. A task force created last year with industry executives identified four guiding principals for the new initiative, such as diversifying representation on all employee levels to better serve guests, communities and associates, and elevating diverse and inclusive leaders across different corporate entities, franchisees, properties and networks. The foundation wants to create an industry toolkit to advance diversity, equity and inclusion this year, given that the needs of lodging members vary considering they run the gamut of size and type of lodging. The five-year plan from the AHLA Foundation aims to increase diversity in the industry in which people of color mostly occupy lower-paying entry-level roles and the vast majority of senior managers are white. The American Hotel & Lodging Association has 27,000 members, including 10 of the largest hotel companies, in the U.S., including Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton and Hyatt, and 80 percent of franchise hotels. |
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Chowan County TDA seeking new executive director Chowan County TDA is seeking a new executive director, as Nancy Nicholls is retiring May 1. The position information can be found here. The deadline for applications is March 15. |
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March issue spotlights ‘Small Towns Big Bites’ The March issue of Our State magazine spotlights “Small Towns Big Bites,” along with the Roanoke River. “Downtown” visits West Jefferson; “Drink Up” is at Bogue Sound Distillery in Bogue; and “Restaurant” highlights Ceviche’s in Wilmington. The March issue is available now. |
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‘North Carolina Weekend’
For the week of March 4, "North Carolina Weekend" repeats the “Cozy Escapes” episode that originally aired Jan. 7. Segments include the southern beaches in winter, based in Sunset Beach; Beech Mountain Resort in Beech Mountain; the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville; a winter tour of waterfalls, based in Brevard; and a profile of Morganton master weaver Joanne Blough. (Check local listings for schedule; segments are subject to change.) "North Carolina Weekend" is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, PBS North Carolina (formerly UNC-TV) has recent editions of "North Carolina Weekend" available online. |
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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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NewsLink is a publication of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina 150 Fayetteville St., Suite 1200, Raleigh, NC 27601 |
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