Weekly e-newsletter for Visit NC partners - May 3, 2023
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Visit NC at Travel South Global Summit
* Visit NC's May webinar next week looks at
Outdoor NC initiative
* Visit NC's PR works leads to media successes
Visit NC at Travel South Global Summit
Visit NC's Wit Tuttell, Amanda Baker, Veda Gilbert, Scott Peacock and Heidi Walters attended Travel South's Global Summit in New Orleans last week The event allowed tourism offices and tour operators to share best practices and coordinate tactics focused on international advertising, marketing and sales. The event included sessions on the latest regarding international research, travel trends, visitor behaviors, marketing strategies and best practices. During the Summit, Travel South also held the annual Ultimate Advertising Challenge event.
Discover Burke’s Ed Phillips
(back left) and Katherine Christie
(back, second from right) with the
fam at Linville Gorge
Visit NC PR team leads N.C. leg of inaugural Travel South Global fam
Visit NC’s Veda Gilbert led the North Carolina section of Travel South Global’s inaugural pre-summit familiarization tour last week. With the theme City Lights and Mountain Sights, journalists representing Australia, Brazil and Spain, plus a French Travel South representative, spent two days exploring Charlotte and Morganton, accruing information for print and broadcast media. Gilbert then escorted the group to New Orleans for the Travel South Global Summit. During the summit’s Global Media Marketplace, Gilbert pitched ideas from destinations across the state to 31 international travel media reps.
Visit NC's May next week webinar looks at Outdoor NC initiative
For its May webinar next week, Visit NC will share information on the Outdoor NC initiative. Working in partnership with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, the initiative launched in 2020 to ensure North Carolina's treasured outdoor resources continue to thrive for the 51 million people who visit these spaces annually. The webinar will serve as a recap on where the initiative started, how it got to where it is now, and the direction it's headed. The webinar will be held at 10 a.m. on May 11. Click
here to register.
Conference PR session leads to High Country among ‘Best Places to Travel in August’
Due to a pitch from the Visit NC PR team, Travel + Leisure’s “12 Best Places to Travel in August
” included North Carolina’s High Country. The writer participated in the Media Marketplace during this year’s Visit NC Tourism Conference in Asheville. The online article noted, in part, the “High Country offers family fun and ideal August weather in the high 70s. The Blue Ridge Parkway, called ‘America’s Favorite Drive’ for its scenery, wildlife, and varied activities, is just one of many attractions.” The digital article mentioned Boone's Horton Hotel and Boone Greenway; Blowing Rock's Tweetsie Railroad, Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, Mystery Hill and Chetola Resort; Linville's Mile-High Swinging Bridge at Grandfather Mountain; and Banner Elk Winery & Villa. Travelandleisure.com attracts 12.7 unique monthly visitors.
Visit NC PR team-supported media visit nets coverage for Raleigh and Durham
With assistance from Visit NC’s PR team, a Medium.com contributor visited the Triangle in March and posted the culinary guide “Eating & Drinking Around Raleigh-Durham: My 12-Stop North Carolina Guide
." Among the dining spots earning favor: Herons at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary; Death & Taxes, Bida Manda, Longleaf Swine, Sam Jones BBQ and Foundation in Raleigh; and M Sushi, Littler, Corpse Reviver, Kingfisher and Alley Twenty Six in Durham. Medium.com attracts 69 million unique monthly visitors. The writer also posted the roundup on her website, theperfectspotsf.com, which has a reach of 1,000 unique monthly visitors.
Visit NC PR team effort scores Canada-wide coverage for Durham, Seagrove, Burnsville
Enticed by a pitch about North Carolina makers, a writer from Canada traveled to the state for a piece headlined “North Carolina boasts bustling crafts industry.” With photos and interviews, the writer explores the histories, traditions and communities that have shaped the work of Tiffany Griffin of Durham’s Bright Black Candles, Seagrove potters Ben Owen and Crystal King, and Keikichi and Tadayoshi Littleton of Hearth Glass Studio in Burnsville. The article and photos were published in 91 Postmedia Network
outlets across Canada for a total reach of 6.9 million. The trip was organized by the Visit NC PR team with hospitality from Discover Durham, the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau and Explore Burnsville.
Excitement for leisure travel remains strong, reports Destination Analysts. More than 84 percent of American travelers say they are excited about traveling during the next 12 months. More than a third of Americans have researched travel ideas online during the last week, and nearly one-fifth made travel reservations in the last week.
While deterrents to travel continue to be related to gas prices and overall costs of travel, these deterrents have all decreased during the last several months.
Visit NC will be providing frequent research updates through Newslink with links to available studies.
Vote for N.C. nominations among ‘Best of Adventure Tours’
North Carolina has several nominations among different categories that are part of USA Today’s 10Best’s “Best of adventure tours.” Daily online voting is open until noon on May 29.
RDU getting new flights – Raleigh-Durham International Airport is getting new flights in the next few months. Avelo Airlines has announced it will add nonstop flights from five new destinations: Manchester, N.H. (MHT), Memphis, Tenn. (MEM), and Rochester, N.Y. (ROC) beginning June 14; Wilmington, Del. (ILG) on June 22 and Melbourne, Fla. (MLB) beginning June 23. Breeze will add a nonstop route connecting New York's Islip Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) to RDU; the flight is slated to start June 28. JetBlue will connect San Juan, Puerto Rico's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) to RDU, starting July 5.
AVL expanding with new terminal – Starting this August, Asheville Regional Airport will break ground on a new terminal that will double the size of the current airport and increase the number of gates from seven to 12. A new air traffic control tower already broke ground in January.
CLT overlook coming in 2024, bringing several amenities – A new permanent airport overlook is coming to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in 2024. Along with views of the airfield and skyline, the new overlook will also include picnic tables, paved parking, restrooms, pet areas, two playgrounds and an area for food truck staging, among other amenities.
For the week of May 4, "North Carolina Weekend” “DISCovers the state,” focusing on disc golf. Featured segments include Rolling Pines Disc Golf in Wilkesboro; Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City; Diavolo Disc Golf Course in Cary; Good Hops Brewing's disc golf in Carolina Beach; and the group Uwharrie Trailblazers in Asheboro. (Check local listings for schedule; segments are subject to change.) "North Carolina Weekend" is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, PBS North Carolina has recent editions of "North Carolina Weekend" available online.
Visit North Carolina is part of Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
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