| Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners | November 14, 2018 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE: * Visit NC -supported visit generates Yadkin Valley coverage
* Visit NC's PR team efforts lead to Chapel Hill among 'College Towns You Should Visit This Fall'
* RetireNC at AARC conference
* Swamp Thing begins filming in Wilmington
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Visit NC-supported visit generates Yadkin Valley coverage
More than 30 newspapers and online media outlets published a Yadkin Valley article distributed by Tribune News Service after a visit arranged by the Visit NC team and hosted by the Tourism Partnership of Surry County and the Wilkesboro TDA. The article, "North Carolina's Yadkin Valley offers authentic peak at yesteryear," highlighted the region's music, moonshine roots and attractions with coverage of the Earle Theatre and Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, the Wilkes Heritage Museum and Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in Wilkesboro, and other points of interest. The writer featured Surry's signature sonker at Miss Angel's Heavenly Pies in Mount Airy and Southern on Main in Elkin, the handcrafted ice cream at Brushy Mountain Smokehouse and Creamery in North Wilkesboro, legal distilleries, choice Yadkin Valley wineries and other spots that flavor the region. Outlets that published the article included The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Kansas City Star, Sacramento Bee, The State, The Virginian-Pilot, and MSN.com. |
Visit NC's PR team efforts lead to Chapel Hill among '7 College Towns You Should Visit This Fall'
The efforts of Visit NC's PR team have led to Chapel Hill among Architectural Digest's "The 7 College Towns You Should Visit This Fall." The PR team worked with the writer for the online article. Of Chapel Hill, the article noted,"Chapel Hill, home to the University of North Carolina, is a great place to visit any time of year, but the town really shines in the fall. A popular destination for leaf-peepers, this pocket of North Carolina is also home to buzzy breweries, like Steel String, and hearty local fare, like The Pig, where UNC alum and chef Sam Suchoff uses humanely raised North Carolina hogs across his menu, cooking up everything from dry-rubbed, smoked ribs to a Vietnamese pork cheek sandwich." |
Avery County Chamber learns about Visit NC, importance of tourism Visit NC's Wit Tuttell was a guest speaker during the Avery Chamber Annual Celebration & Award Presentation this past Monday. Tuttell spoke about the importance of tourism to the state, in general, and specifically to Avery County and the northwest region. Tourism revenue is significant, he noted, but so are the number of jobs tourism supports - from a first job for a young person to a part-time job for a retiree, running the full range of the job cycle for people. |
| | | Nabors (ctr) with two AARC board members | |
Visit NC at AARC conference
Visit NC's André Nabors represented RetireNC at the American Association of Retirement Communities annual conference in Daytona Beach, Fla., last week. Attendees learned best practices from industry leaders, comparing strategies and tactics with communities who seek to better understand the needs of the wave of Baby Boomer retirees, as well as the research, digital advertising strategies and social media marketing to attract this growing market. In addition, Nabors accepted an award on behalf of the City of Reidsville, as an AARC Seal of Approval community; the program recognizes communities who have made a commitment - both in "hard" amenity offerings and "soft" programs - to a "best in class" lifestyle for retirees. Visit North Carolina markets the N.C. Certified Retirement Community Program, which recognizes towns that are positioning themselves for retiree attraction as an economic and community development strategy. Currently, the recognized towns are the N.C. Certified Retirement Community Program, which consists of Asheboro, Eden, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Jamestown/High Point, Laurinburg, Lenoir, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, New Bern, Pittsboro, Reidsville, Roanoke Rapids, Sanford, Tarboro, Washington and Winterville. Once a community has completed the certification process, Visit North Carolina will help market and promote the community through Web presence on RetireNC.com, e-marketing, trade shows, social media, public relations, visitor services and research, among other opportunities. For more information on the N.C. Certified Retirement Community program, contact André Nabors at (919) 447-7771
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Swamp Thing begins filming in Wilmington Production gets underway this week on the first episode of Swamp Thing, according to the (Wilmington) Star-News. The production, filming in the greater Wilmington region, has been a project heavily recruited by the NC Film Office and local officials - including the Wilmington Regional Film Commission, EUE/Screen Gems Studios, the City of Wilmington, and local film crew executives - for more than six months. "For us, Swamp Thing has been underway for months," said Bill Vassar with EUE/Screen Gems Studios, where the series is filming. "The production has done a tremendous amount of planning, getting ready for the execution of their plan. You don't just have a normal production crew here. You have a marine crew and a special effects crew, as well as a large wardrobe and costume unit, and special facilities were constructed to make sure they could operate efficiently." |
| | Gaster (lf) and CFC's Juli Emmons | |
Gaster addresses Carolina Film Community
N.C. Film Office Director Guy Gaster was the featured speaker last week at the November meeting of the Carolina Film Community in Charlotte. Gaster updated the organization on the current state of the film industry in North Carolina as well as addressed misconceptions about the current film rebate program, which is funded through the N.C. Film and Entertainment Grant. In addition, he shared ways members of the organization can get involved, including sharing how they can register to be part of the free statewide resource directory maintained by the state film office. The Carolina Film Community is a group composed of actors, directors, producers, talent agents, coaches, and crew from North and South Carolina that meets monthly to exchange ideas and opportunities with the goal of creating more film work in North and South Carolina. |
| | | The group at Reed Gold Mine |
Welcome Center managers meet in Concord The Cabarrus County CVB hosted N.C. Welcome Center managers for the group's semi-annual meeting, which included a study tour of the area. N.C. Dept. of Commerce's Director of Visitor Services Bryan Gupton and Program Manager Wally Wazan facilitated the discussion-style meeting, which covered budget issues, customer service training, event planning, and overall travel trends in the state. Tourism Call Center Supervisor Teresa Smith also participated. To better highlight the area's lodging options, the group stayed at several area hotels - Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Comfort Suites, Hampton Inn and the Great Wolf Lodge. In addition, the group got facility overviews during a visit to Charlotte Motors Speedway and zMax Dragway in Concord, panned for gold at Reed Gold Mine in Midland, and toured Southern Grace Distilleries' Whiskey Prison in Mount Pleasant. Travel entity partners such as a CVB, TDA or chamber interested in hosting Welcome Center staff to provide them with first-hand knowledge of their destinations should contact Wally Wazan at (919) 814-4649 for more information. |
More than 54 million Americans to travel this Thanksgiving AAA projects 54.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving, a 4.8 percent increase over last year. The 2018 holiday weekend will see the highest Thanksgiving travel volume in more than a dozen years (since 2005), with 2.5 million more people taking to the nation's roads, skies, rails and waterways compared with last year. The vast majority of travelers - 48.5 million - will hit the road this Thanksgiving, nearly 5 percent more than last year. The Thanksgiving holiday period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 21, to Sunday, Nov. 25. |
Allegiant adding Sarasota-AVL flight
Allegiant Airlines said Tuesday (yesterday) it's adding twice-weekly, nonstop service to Asheville from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in Florida. The flight connecting SRQ to AVL is slated to begin Feb. 22. |
Vote for N.C. holiday sites, events North Carolina has two sites and two events among the nominations for three 10Best's Readers' Choice Awards. Online voting by readers is now open via USAToday.com's website; click on the hyperlink to vote. Voting ends Dec. 10 at noon. |
Ballantyne's Ryal among the 'Most Beautifully Designed Bar in Each State' Architectural Digest chose The Ryal, at the Ballantyne in Charlotte, as the North Carolina selection for its "Most Beautifully Designed Bar in Each State in America." Of the Ryal, the online article noted, "With its gold detailing, custom-tufted carpet and plush seating, the Ryal - within the newly renovated hotel, which was named for the Ballantyne neighborhood, and the bar named after currency used during James VI of Scotland's reign - is a cozy spot."
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Hot Stuff Tattoo among '10 great parlors for that forever souvenir' USA Today offered its "Tattoos on vacation: 10 great parlors for that forever souvenir" and included Hot Stuff Tattoo in Asheville. The article's noted source said of Hot Stuff Tattoo, "This Blue Ridge Mountains city gets top reviews for its art, music and tattoos. The shop inks a lot of tattoos with an outdoors theme, such as fishing, which makes sense since artist Danny Reed is a big fisherman and excels at natural images." |
Nash County T&T gets new offices, website Nash County T&T has moved its offices to a new location at 1104 Falls Rd. in Rocky Mount, near Rocky Mount Mills. Phone numbers are staying the same. In addition to a new website, https://explorenashcounty.com, comes a new suffix for their emails, @explorenashcounty.com. |
The challenges of recycling Despite having a simple message, many recycling programs can be confusing and difficult for recyclers to understand. What plastic is recyclable, can empty pizza boxes be recycled, and does green glass have to be separated from clear glass? These common questions can lead would-be recyclers straight to the trash bins. The best way to encourage recycling is to make it simple and easy for customers, guests and staff to follow. Consider using bins fitted with specialized slots designated for proper material, implementing commingled recycling or developing materials to help inform customers and staff about your recycling program. It is also helpful to monitor your recycling program to ensure it is working properly. For more information on creating a successful recycle program, contact your local waste reduction contact, or contact NC GreenTravel Initiative program manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140. |
| | For the week of Nov. 15 on North Carolina Weekend, learn about Indian culture in the Cary and Morrisville. Explore the newly re-opened visitors center at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. Enjoy Part 1 of a story on the Surry Winter Wine Passport, in Mount Airy and Elkin. And tempt your taste buds at Stackhouse American Eatery & Pub in Mars Hill. (Check local listings; segments are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, UNC-TV has made recent editions of North Carolina Weekend available online. | Thirty-eight counties in North Carolina had 1,000 or more jobs that were directly supported by domestic travelers during 2017. For more North Carolina visitor spending information, visit the Economic Impact Studies or contact Visit NC's Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748. |
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Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events
Jan. 24-25 - MPI Carolinas Chapter Meeting, Durham Jan 24-Feb. 3 - Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah Jan. 25-29 - ABA Meeting & Marketplace, Louisville, Ky. Jan. 29-31 - RCMA Emerge, Greensboro |
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