| Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners | October 16, 2019 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE:
* Visit North Carolina hires first Dog Travel Agent
* Denmark, Sweden tour operators learn about N.C. in training sessions
* Visit NC touts North Carolina for U.K. media, travel operators |
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 | | | Mo invites dogs, humans and everyone else to follow her travels across N.C. |
Visit North Carolina hires first Dog Travel Agent
An All-American dog named Mo has joined the Visit North Carolina team in the newly created position of Dog Travel Agent. Mo, a rescue dog who lives in Charlotte, will provide expert travel advice from a canine perspective. She'll deliver firsthand reports on DogTravelAgent.com, which will also feature trip ideas, an adventure generator and user-generated content. Beginning with a fall trip to the Crystal Coast, Mo will also post on Visit NC's Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Youtube accounts to further lead travelers through the scent-laced terrain from mountains to sea. "Visit North Carolina is thrilled to welcome Mo to our pack," said Visit NC's Wit Tuttell. "Nearly half of all dog owners now travel with their pets, and Mo will be an effective resource for finding the most welcoming hotels, campgrounds, parks and trails, breweries, restaurants, bakeries and other places that cater to tail-waggers. Our goal is to make North Carolina the first place that comes to mind for travel with dogs, and we're confident Mo is the key to making this happen." Visit NC launched the search for its Dog Travel Agent on Aug. 26, National Dog Day. Mo was selected after a review of videos and written applications from more than 500 candidates. Media have already picked up the story, including TV's WTVD (Durham), WNCN (Raleigh) and WGHP (High Point), plus Hendersonville Lightning. |
Denmark, Sweden tour operators learn about N.C. in training sessions
Visit NC's Heidi Walters joined Travel South USA, Louisiana Tourism and Alabama Tourism for tour operator training sessions in Denmark and Sweden last week. The U.S. South is a fairly new destination for these markets. Just last year, Travel South began a global partnership with the Nordic countries, as they are very eager to travel and know a lot about the South. Sweden ranks #14 and Denmark #17 on North Carolina's overseas visitation markets. For more information on Visit NC's international marketing efforts, contact Heidi Walters at (919) 447-7762. |
Visit NC touts North Carolina at Panthers' game in London
Visit NC partnered with Brand USA on a multi-media campaign around the Carolina Panthers' inaugural football game in the U.K. this past Monday. As part of the package, Visit NC, along with Visit Charlotte's Chacara Harvin, met with 15 U.K. partners in trade and media at the game. The campaign included 27 Sky Sports TV advertisements and an $50,000 in Expedia activation that began in this month. |
Visit NC hosts luncheon in London for U.K. media, travel operators
Visit NC hosted 10 media, airline, car rental and tour operators for a lunch and learn at London's RAF Club last Friday. Attendees learned about North Carolina, including various attractions, notable aspects and the ease of travel to the state from the U.K. |
| | | Taylor (standing) led the DMO Roundtable |
Visit NC at Marketing Outlook Forum
Visit NC's Wit Tuttell and Marlise Taylor were in Bethesda, Md., last week for Travel & Tourism Research Association's (TTRA) Marketing Outlook Forum. Taylor moderated the DMO Roundtable. MOF brings together nearly 400 travel professionals from around the world for a global perspective of the state of the travel industry. The Forum is the leading travel forecast conference combining industry networking and quality educational programs into a premier event attracting delegates from nearly all state and provincial tourism offices in the U.S. and Canada, international tourism offices, airlines and hotels, as well as many travel industry suppliers. During the MOF awards program, two awards were presented to two with N.C. ties. Will Hare with the Durham CVB was recognized with the Yesawich Award for Marketing Excellence. Hailey Post, a graduate student at N.C. State University, was recognized with the John and Joan Markham Tourism Marketing Award. |
Update on N.C. Welcome Centers
The North Carolina Welcome Centers continue to assist travelers at their locations with the state. W hile seven of the nine Welcome Center locations are operating at their regular sites, the I-40 West in Waynesville and the I-95 North in Roanoke Rapids both continue to be closed due to major construction projects to the onsite rest areas and many various improvements to the Welcome Center structures as well. The two Welcome Centers are scheduled to re-open sometime next year. In the meantime, the I-40 West team and operations have been relocated to the Haywood County Visitor Center in Maggie Valley, and the I-95 North team is dividing their time and assisting in operations at the Halifax County Visitor Center and the I-85 North Welcome Center in Norlina. The experiences of working at a local visitor center have had a tremendously positive outcome on the Welcome Center teams by serving a fairly different segment of visitation and enhancing their knowledge about the area a relocated center is working out of. The N.C. Department of Commerce Visitor Services Program established these partnerships between both of the local visitor centers that have become a success to maintain the mission of the Welcome Center program. For more information on the N.C. Welcome Centers, contact Wally Wazan at (919) 814-4649. |
Esports event has $1.45 million economic impact for Raleigh area The Raleigh area saw a $1.45 million in direct economic impact resulting from the Rainbow Six Siege Raleigh Major event in August, according to The ESports Observer. The Raleigh Convention Center had more than 2,600 attendees daily during the three sold-out days of the event, with more than 70 percent of visitors coming from out-of-state or internationally. The Greater Raleigh CVB and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) collectively hired a company to help draw esports events to the area. In addition to consulting the groups throughout the process of the Raleigh Major event, that company also held an esports summit event to educate local businesses about the industry and opportunities. |
N.C. cities among 'Best Places to Retire 2020'
Several N.C. cities are among U.S. News & World Report's "2020 U.S. News Best Places to Retire." Asheville ranked #4 and Winston-Salem at #7 among the top 10. The annual list ranked up to 125 spots, with Raleigh & Durham included at #28, Charlotte #32 and Greensboro #37. U.S. News analyzed data for the 125 largest metropolitan areas in the USA to assess how well they meet Americans' retirement needs and expectations. Top criteria include the happiness of local residents, housing affordability, tax rates and healthcare quality. |
N.C. sites, DMOs among 'Readers' Choice Awards'
Several N.C. sites and DMOs are among ConventionSouth's "2019 Readers' Choice Awards." For North Carolina, winners recognized were Asheville CVB; Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem; Biltmore Estate in Asheville; Cabarrus County CVB; Fayetteville Area CVB; Goldsboro Travel & Tourism; Greensboro Area CVB; Greenville Convention Center; Greenville-Pitt County CVB; Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort; Hickory Metro CVB; Hotel Ballast in Wilmington; JB Duke Hotel in Durham; Kimpton Cardinal Hotel in Winston-Salem; The Maxwell Center in Goldsboro; Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock; Mooresville CVB; New Bern Riverfront Convention Center; New Bern-Craven County CVB; Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB; Raleigh Marriott City Center Hotel; Statesville CVB; The Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary; Visit Winston-Salem; Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club in Durham; and Wilmington and Beaches CVB. |
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'Breweries of all shapes, sizes make North Carolina a craft beer mecca'
Forbes.com offered "Breweries of All Shapes, Sizes Make North Carolina a Craft Beer Mecca," spotlighting breweries across the state and providing insight from Anne Fitten Glenn, the author of "Western North Carolina: A Mountain Brew History and Asheville Beer: An Intoxicating History of Mountain Brewing." The online article noted, ""Asheville, 'commonly referred to as Beer City, USA,' is home to the second-most breweries per capita in the nation, Glenn says. The Asheville area houses breweries of nationally known craft brewers Sierra Nevada and New Belgium, and Sierra Nevada's facilities, grounds and restaurant may be the Shangri-la of the craft-brewery world. There are also many local success stories, including Burial Beer and Wicked Weed Brewing, and another craft-beer giant, Oskar Blues, brews about 35 miles southwest in Brevard. Charlotte and the triangle region of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill 'are also centers of suds,' and 'almost every small town now hosts its own brewery,' says Glenn. With so much craft beer to choose from, it may be wise for travelers - and locals - to listen to Glenn's recommendations when in search of the state's best breweries." |
Why green recognition matters
The NC GreenTravel Initiative Recognition program provides tourism-oriented businesses in North Carolina a no-cost, non-regulatory option to be recognized for their implementation of green practices. For many tourism businesses, being recognized by a green recognition program is one way to set their business apart from their competitors. Being recognized by a program such as NC GreenTravel as a green hotel, restaurant or attraction is also a great way to validate their efforts to be green. As more tourism businesses claim to be green, participating in a program like NC GreenTravel is a great way to show visitors a property not only talks about being green, but has taken action to do so. And as noted in the article "Consumers Demand Green," "Adopting environmentally friendly and energy efficient business practices provides numerous benefits to new and existing small business owners looking to control costs, attract customers and become socially responsible." The NC GreenTravel program also provides a number of resources and tools to help implement additional sustainable practices. For more information about the NC GreenTravel Initiative or for technical assistance, contact NC GreenTravel program manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140. |
| | For the week of Oct. 17 on "North Carolina Weekend," visit the elk near and enjoy the town of Maggie Valley. Get in the Christmas spirit a bit early with the Charlotte Motor Speedway Christmas Light Show in Concord. Lift a glass at Raffaldini Vineyards in Ronda. And the "House Special" samples the fare at The Peddler Steak House in Raleigh. (Check local listings; segments are subject to change.) "North Carolina Weekend" is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, UNC-TV has recent editions of "North Carolina Weekend" available online. | In 2018, the average travel party size for all Coastal Region visitors was 2.4 people. Forty-two percent of travel parties to the region included children in the party in 2018. For more North Carolina visitor information, visit Visitor Profile Studies, or contact Visit NC's Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748. |
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Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events
Oct. 29-30 - Civil War Trails Meeting, Charleston, W.V. Nov. 6-8 - AARC Annual Conference, Chattanooga, Tenn. Nov. 7-8 - AENC Fall Conference, Cary Nov. 8 - NC Coast Host Meeting, Lumberton Nov. 19 - Visit NC Travel & Tourism Board Meeting, Cary Dec. 12 - AENC Annual Showcase |
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