Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners
November 15, 2017
IN THIS ISSUE:
* N.C. destinations promoted at 
Atlanta media mission
* Visit NC meets with tour operators, 
media at WTM
Garden & Gun, Southern Living spring print co-op spots now available
N.C. destinations promoted at Atlanta media mission
 
Twenty-two destination partners participated in Visit North Carolina's biennial Atlanta media reception last Thursday with PR Manager Eleanor Talley, PR Specialist Suzanne Brown and PR Representative Hayes Norris, plus Barry Finkelstein, Stacey McCray and Devyn Doyle from LGA. Twenty-six writers, editors and producers from print, broadcast and digital outlets - including staffers and contributors to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, CNN.com, and Points North, Southbound and Travelgirl magazines - attended the event at 5Church Atlanta. Participating partners included Explore Asheville, Brunswick County TDA, Burke County TDA, Burlington/Alamance CVB, Cabarrus County CVB, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, Currituck County Dept. of T&T, Durham CVB, Greensboro Area CVB, Greenville-Pitt County CVB, Haywood County TDA, Jackson County TDA, Johnston County VB, Visit Lake Norman, Outer Banks VB, Polk County T&T, Greater Raleigh CVB, Rutherford County TDA, Wilkes TDA, Wilmington and Beaches CVB, Wilson Visitors Center and Winston-Salem CVB.
 
Partners mingled with media guests over hors d'oeuvres; North Carolina craft beer from The Duck-Rabbit, Foothills and Highland; Biltmore wines; and Aviation cocktails made with Durham Distillery's Conniption Gin. Completing the menu was a selection of bean-to-bar chocolates from Asheville's French Broad Chocolates, Charlotte's Potts Chocolate, Winston-Salem's Black Mountain Chocolate and Raleigh's Videri Chocolate Factory. Partners and the PR team from Visit North Carolina and LGA will follow up with journalists to maximize connections from the event.

To find out more about Visit North Carolina's public relations program, contact
Eleanor Talleyat (919) 447-7783.
Tuttell (ctr) and McCubbin (rt) with a tour operator
Visit NC meets with tour operators, media at WTM

Executive Director Wit Tuttell and Partner & Industry Relations Director Heidi Walters, along with Duncan McCubbin, Visit North Carolina representative for the U.K. and Ireland, attended World Travel Market. The event was held in London on Nov. 5-7. The annual event is the largest gathering of the U.K. travel trade industry.
 
World Travel Market gives Visit North Carolina the opportunity to meet with both tour operators and media contacts to continue to promote the travel options across the state. During the course of the three days, the North Carolina team met with 39 trade and media professionals, an 18 percent increase versus the number of meetings in 2016, which reinforces the extra interest from the U.K. travel trade in the state of North Carolina. Visitors from the U.K. to North Carolina increased by 4.3 percent in 2016, the latest figures available.
 
Visit North Carolina partnered with Travel South USA on a joint booth for the show. As a partner with Travel South, this offered Visit North Carolina a higher degree of exposure as the stand continues to be one of the most impressive within the USA section. To learn more about Visit NC's international marketing program, please contact Heidi Walters at (919) 447-7762.
Act fast: Garden & Gun, Southern Living spring print co-op spots now available

Additional co-op spots in Visit NC's spring Garden & Gun and Southern Living print co-ops have just become available. These publications are two of the most popular on the plan and have typically sold out quickly. To take advantage of one of the remaining spots in either magazine, please contact Michelle Reino at (704) 552-6565. Act fast as these spots will go quickly. Here's more information about each opportunity:

Garden & Gun - April/May 2018
Publication info
* Circulation - 400,000
* Geography - National
* Age - 90 percent are 35+
* Male - 54 percent
* Average HH income: $370,800

1/6 page Directory Ad investment - $2,500
* Deadline for
commitment - Nov. 27
* Deadline for materials - Dec.18
Southern Living - May 2018
Publication info
* Circulation - 1,383,000
* Geography - Regional (Del., Fla., Ga., Md., N.C., N.J., N.Y., Pa., S.C., Tenn., Va., D.C.)
* Age - 55
* Female - 72 percent
* Average HH income - $69,510

1/6 page Directory Ad investment - $5,600
* Deadline for commitment - Nov. 27
* Deadline for materials - Feb. 1, 2018
The photo booth was popular with attendees
Visit NC at Toronto National Women's Show
This past weekend, the Visit North Carolina Canada team showcased the state at the Toronto National Women's Show. While not having participated in the consumer show before, this proved a great opportunity to reach and engage with a targeted audience of female consumers looking to see, sample and buy products, services and trips. At the North Carolina booth, attendees were invited to participate in a fun and interactive green screen photo booth experience, complete with iconic North Carolina backgrounds and a trunk full of props. They were then encouraged to share their photos on social media as part of a contest draw (prizing courtesy of Visit Winston Salem). The show was a huge success, reaching more than 30,000 attendees during the three-day event. 
 
In terms of market share of international visitors to North Carolina, Canada is the top market with 37 percent of market share and 25 percent of spending. In 2016, nearly 473,000 Canadians visited North Carolina, spending almost $107.9 million. To learn more about international marketing opportunities, please contact Heidi Walters at (919) 447-7762.
Three Billboards has special screening in Sylva; opens nationwide this month

N.C. Film Office Director Guy Gaster and Visit NC's Tourism Marketing Director Mark Shore and PR Representative Hayes Norris attended a special screening of the feature film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri yesterday (Tuesday) in Sylva. The local screening was a "thank you" to the region and its residents for their assistance and cooperation during the filming process approximately a year ago. The feature, which had a direct in-state spend of $12.6 million, is currently playing in New York and Los Angeles and open nationwide later this month. The event was organized by  the Jackson TDA. View local coverage of the event here.
HSMAI North Carolina asking for input via quick survey

Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International is an organization designed to provide education on cutting edge topics in the hotel industry. It's run by volunteers who work in hotels or with hotel partners. HSMAI North Carolina wants to understand what you want and what works best for you to obtain more education. So it created a survey with 13 questions; based on current survey responses, it takes about four minutes to complete the survey. As an added incentive to spur survey participation, one in 25 survey responses will receive free admission to one HSMAI North Carolina event in 2018; up to a total of five free admissions is being given away. To qualify, one must complete the entire survey, including the final question. There will be a random draw of names the week of Thanksgiving. Please forward this survey to other general managers, sales managers, marketing managers, and revenue managers in your hotel, company, or even to other hoteliers. The more responses collected, the better HSMAI-North Carolina can serve the industry as a whole.
Lejeune Memorial Gardens in Jacksonville among '10 great places to honor the military on Veterans Day'
 
USA Today included the Lejeune Memorial Gardens in Jacksonville among its "10 great places to honor the military on Veterans Day." The sites were provided to the writer by a retired Marine major general. Of the Lejeune Memorial Gardens, the article noted, "A collection of monuments greets visitors outside the Marine Corps' Base Camp Lejeune. The newest addition, the Montford Point Marine Memorial, honors African-American Marines who trained at a segregated camp during World War II. Other areas include the nation's second-largest Vietnam War memorial, a beam from the World Trade Center, and a site devoted to the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed more than 240 servicemembers. "It reflects the devastating loss we suffered," said the major general.
CVB for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area moving offices

The CVB for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area is moving its offices. Effective Nov. 21, its new address will be 65 Community Road, Pinehurst, N.C., 28374. Phone numbers and emails will remain the same.
Lemley new executive director for N.C. Craft Brewers Guild

Andrew Lemley is the new executive director for the NC Craft Brewers Guild. He may be contacted via director@ncbeer.org.
Lighting controls make hotels sustainable

Here is the quest: provide total guest comfort while saving energy costs. Hotels can significantly reduce energy costs by installing occupancy-based master lighting controls. Using smart switches, lighting can be custom programmed to suit room design. One such system is a master light switch, which automatically turns off lighting in unoccupied rooms without inconveniencing the guest. When the guest returns to the hotel room, the switch illuminates welcome lighting. This system is designed to ensure that light fixtures will work when the guest wants them to work, regardless of whether the master switch is on or off. Another great way to save on energy is to install occupancy sensors in bathrooms and meeting rooms. This prevents using energy when no one is in the room. Essentially, the lighting is automatically turned off when people leave a room and turned on when someone enters the room. Combining these lighting controls with LED lights can save a significant amount of money. Budgeting for retrofitting lighting or phasing in light retrofits is a wonderful way to lower costs, save energy and improve the environment. For more information about lighting controls and LED lighting, contact NC GreenTravel Initiative Manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140.
For the week of Nov. 16, North Carolina Weekend visits Edenton and Chowan County, spotlights holiday celebrations and weekend activities such as kayaking the Alligator River (going in to Dare County, too). "Collecting Carolina" examines some of the furniture and other treasures of historic Edenton. (Please note: listings 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.
The average travel party size for all Coastal Region visitors was 2.5 people. Forty-one percent of overnight travel parties to the region included children in the party in 2016 (39 percent of all travel parties). For more North Carolina visitor information, visit Visitor Profile Studies or contact Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748.

Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events

Through Nov. 17 - AARC Annual Conference, Wilmington
Nov. 27-30 - Travel South USA International Showcase, Charleston, S.C.
Dec. 5 - Visit NC T&T Board Meeting, Raleigh
Dec. 5-6 - STS Fall Forum (rescheduled from Oct.), Biloxi, Miss.
Dec. 11-13 - Carolinas Recreation & Parks Assn. Conference, Greensboro
Dec. 12 - NC Sports Assn. Quarterly Meeting, Greensboro
Jan. 18-19 - MPI-CC Meeting, Charlotte
NewsLink is a publication of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
15000 Weston Parkway | Cary, NC 27513