Weekly e-newsletter for Visit NC partners - November 16, 2023
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Registration now open for 2024 Visit North Carolina Tourism Conference
* NC PR team, partners pitch at
Visit NC’s NYC media mission
* Visit NC, NCRLA and Google partner for free webinar to provide free insights and strategies for restaurants and hotels
Registration now open for 2024 Visit North Carolina Tourism Conference
The 2024 Visit North Carolina Tourism Conference will take place Sunday – Tuesday, March 17-19 in Greenville. Registration is now open for the conference as well as pre-conference workshops, media marketplace and sightseeing activities.
This year's program features keynote speakers from the Marketing AI Institute as well as Google and Relic. There are more breakout sessions this year as well, covering topics such as data analysis, visitor dispersion, owned-media strategies, short-form video, personalization in content creation, accessibility in the outdoors, AI in public relations, and more.
Early bird registration is $475 and ends Jan. 8. After that, standard registration is $525; registration closes on March 5. To learn more about the conference, register and reserve a hotel, click here.
Gerhart (ctr) leading the
beignet-making
Visit NC PR team, partners pitch at Visit NC’s NYC media mission Seven destination partners traveled to New York with the Visit NC PR team last week for a two-day mini-media mission. In a series of three events in this major media capital, nearly 40 writers and editors heard pitches from Explore Asheville, Explore Boone, NC’s Brunswick Islands, Visit Chapel Hill-Orange County VB, Visit New Bern, Visit Raleigh and Visit Sanford. A midday event featuring a beignet-making lesson from Sunny Gerhart of St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar in Raleigh drew participants from such outlets as HuffPost, Insider, Fodor’s Travel, POPSUGAR, Ebony and Lonely Planet. Gary Crunkleton of The Crunkleton in Chapel Hill and Charlotte led a cocktail-making session attended by contributors to Forbes, Frommer’s, FOX News Radio, GoNOMAD and
other outlets. The finale, a reception at the Dotdash Meredith offices, centered on conversations with writers and editors from Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, Midwest Living and TripSavvy. Partners and the Visit NC PR team (including reps from DCI) will follow up with journalists to maximize connections from the event.
Visit NC, NCRLA and Google partner to provide free insights and strategies for restaurants and hotels
Visit NC, in collaboration with the N.C. Restaurant & Lodging Assn. and Google, will be putting on an insightful, free 60-minute webinar at 10 am on Nov. 30 for hotels and restaurants in North Carolina to discover essential strategies to supercharge their business's online presence with Google.
Attendees will learn best practices for setting up and managing their Google Business Profile, and explore innovative features designed for the tourism industry including strategies for enhancing their business’s profile on Google Search and Maps. They will take away free tools to enhance their listing's visibility on Google, engage potential customers and even enable direct bookings for accommodations, restaurants and activities.
Full details and a registration link can be found here. All DMO partners in the state are encouraged to make their local restaurants and hotels aware of this free opportunity to gain valuable insights and get their questions answered by Google experts.
Outdoor NC workshops prove popular
This past week, Visit NC's Heidi Walters, Amanda Baker and André Nabors presented to industry partners the evolution of the Outdoor NC initiative to further enhance industry partnerships, destination stewardship and visitor experiences. In November and December, Outdoor NC is launching a series of free, continuing education workshops for North Carolina DMO partners.
Visit Currituck, Visit Pender and Johnston County VB successfully hosted this first round of these meetings. Partners learned about Outdoor NC 2.0 and dove into emerging tourism trends; heard insightful case studies on accessible outdoors, destination stewardship and responsible visitation; and got a preview of practical tools and resources to help advance North Carolina’s stewardship mission. The final two workshops will be later this month in Blowing Rock and Nantahala Outdoor Center.
Coast Host gets Visit NC update
Visit NC’s André Nabors spoke at the N.C. Coast Host quarterly meeting last week in Lumberton. Nabors provided an update on Visit NC, including its “For Real, NC” marketing campaign.
N.C.-filmed ‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Bottom’ debuts tomorrow (Friday)
The N.C.-filmed feature “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Bottom“ is set to debut tomorrow (Friday) on Peacock. Hailing from the comedic trio Please Don’t Destroy, the feature is the story of three friends who live together and when they realize that they don't like their life trajectory, they set off to find a gold treasure that is rumored to be buried in the nearby mountain.
Filming on the project took place in Burke, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union counties in 2022. Estimated in-state spending related to production of the feature was anticipated to exceed $28 million and was approved for a rebate via the N.C. Film & Entertainment Grant. Click here to view the trailer.
N.C.-filmed ‘A Biltmore Christmas’ premieres Nov. 26
“A Biltmore Christmas” is slated to premiere on the Hallmark Channel on Nov. 26. “A Biltmore Christmas” filmed earlier this year at Biltmore and in the greater Asheville area and follows a script writer who is hired to write a script for a remake of a holiday classic, and in doing so magically transported back to when the original movie was being filmed.
According to the N.C. Film Office, the production was expected to have a direct in-state spend of more than $4 million and was approved for a rebate via the state’s film and entertainment grant. The project is the sixth “Hallmark” feature to have shot in the state since 2020. View the trailer here.
Recent data from the “2023 US Family Travel Survey Results,” by the Family Travel Association, shows that the family travel market will continue its strong growth seen since the end of the pandemic. More than three-quarters of parents say they are likely to travel with their children in the next year and many families plan to spend more, though affordability remains a concern. Travelers are paying close attention to extra fees, as well as cancellation and refund policies.
In addition to costs, challenges to family travel include being seated together on flights, scarce family rooms in hotels, labor shortages and lack of transparency in rates and fees.
Multi-generational travel remains popular, says the association. More than half of parents say that are planning to travel with grandparents. Beach vacations are the top choice of vacation for this type of travel party. Parents surveyed say that family travel helps children be more adaptable and helps with social skills. It is also seen as a way to overcome any negative effects of the pandemic.
Visit NC will be providing frequent research updates through Newslink with links to available studies.
55.4 million Americans expected to travel for Thanksgiving
During the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, AAA projects 55.4 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home. This year’s Thanksgiving forecast is an increase of 2.3 percent from last year and marks the third-highest Thanksgiving forecast since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000. AAA projects 49.1 million Americans will drive to their destinations and 4.7 million people will fly. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as the five-day period from Wednesday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 26.
Ad sales open for the Guide to Birding in North Carolina
Ad sales have begun for the Guide to Birding in North Carolina, which is available for download via VisitNC.com. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 45 million Americans participate in birdwatching. Advertising cost for the second edition of the statewide digital publication is $1,500 for a full-page ad and a full-page of editorial; $850 for a half-page ad and a half-page of editorial. The ad deadline for this year’s edition is Dec. 11. The publisher, Executive Media Global, can also design your ad. For more information or to sign up, contact
Randy Reagor at (904) 393-7968.
RDU gets new airline, international flight to Mexico City
Raleigh-Durham International Airport will add another airline and another international flight next summer, reports WRAL. Aeromexico launches daily, nonstop service between RDU and Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) in July.
Banner Elk’s ‘Woolly Worm Festival’ in the spotlight
“Sunday Morning” put the spotlight on the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk in its "The Woolly Worm Festival - Inching to predict winter’s weather," which aired this past Sunday. Included in the segment was the emphasis on the economic impact and importance of the festival to the area. Mary Jo Brubaker, the festival chair, explained how it helps small business owners es, as some can make enough money in the festival’s one weekend to sustain them through three winter months. The annual festival brings 20,000 visitors to Banner Elk, which has a population of less than 1,500.
'15 Best Weekend Getaways in North Carolina, According to Locals'
Last week, Travel + Leisure offered “15 Best Weekend Getaways in North Carolina, According to Locals
." The online article explained, “Not all vacations need to be extended, expensive trips. Sometimes, a simple weekend getaway – in the form of a cozy mountain retreat, a couple of days at the beach, or a whirlwind city escape – is the perfect way to satisfy a travel itch. While there are numerous East Coast destinations to choose from, it’s sometimes easier to first narrow down the search; in this case, to North Carolina, a state with a wide range of fun, fulfilling places to explore.” Destinations included in the article were Asheboro, Asheville, Beaufort, Black Mountain, Bryson City, Down East, Durham, Emerald Isle, Greensboro, Highlands, Lake Norman, Morehead City, Pinehurst, Robbinsville, and Wilmington. Visit NC provided the majority of the
photography for the online article.
For the week of Nov. 16, "North Carolina Weekend” offers "History in the Making.” Featured segments include the Old Rock School in Valdese and the town's history; Reed Gold Mine in Midland; Mendenhall Homeplace in Jamestown; the Daniel Boone Heritage Trail in Mocksville; and the Carolina Inn's Centennial celebration in Chapel Hill. (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 The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
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