Weekly e-newsletter for Visit NC Partners - October 24, 2024
IN THIS ISSUE: * Visit NC update: Hurricane Helene recovery
* The Weather Channel gets update for WNC travel
* First in Fright resumes
* Visit NC collaborative PR trips spark international coverage
Visit NC update: Hurricane Helene recovery
Visit NC continues to update its Western NC Travel Advisory webpage and interactive map to showcase areas that are reopening to visitation and show ways for travelers to reach them. This map is updated as conditions change.
Visit NC's messaging strategy currently for Western North Carolina encourages visitors to travel to areas across the state that are open and to do so by not interfering with areas that are still in recovery stages, it also encourages travelers to support relief efforts by donating and volunteering while traveling to the region.
As the Western NC Travel Advisory webpage remains active, if tourism partners have updates on closures or openings, major event news or properties offering discounts to those displaced by the storm, please send that information to alert@visitnc.com. These efforts will be added to Visit NC’s communications as appropriate.
The Weather Channel gets update for WNC travel
Visit NC's Scott Peacock was on The Weather Channel this week discussing recovery efforts in Western North Carolina and, especially, places that visitors can responsibly travel to right now and in the near future. Click here to view that segment.
First in Fright campaign resumes
Visit NC has resumed First in Fright, the recently launched initiative that celebrates the many ghost stories, folklore tales and things that go bump in the North Carolina night. Visit NC had paused it due to Hurricane Helene and its immediate aftermath. This integrated, evergreen campaign aims to establish North Carolina as the
destination for spooky travel – a trend that has been growing in popularity and that other destinations have seen great success in marketing to this travel segment.
All eight episodes of the First in Fright podcast, featuring real stories of hauntings, unexplained phenomena, cryptid encounters and generational lore, are now live on streaming platforms. There’s also the North Carolina Haunted Trail, which includes visitable places across the state with known paranormal stories. Additional content ranges from haunted hotels to horror movie filming locations in NC and unique Halloween experiences.
How you can get involved - Listen, like, review and share the podcast. - Share spooky stories of your destination using the hashtag #NCFirstinFright.
- Submit Fall-/Halloween-related events to our website through your county's tourism database contact. These can include haunted houses, ghost tours, hayrides, etc. When submitting, please follow the Guidelines for Inclusion (found here, too) and include a strong description, image and detailed information.
For questions or more information, contact Visit NC's Katie Bailey.
Visit NC collaborative PR trips spark international coverage
Sanford, Raleigh, Charlotte and Southport are featured in Vogue Germany, Canada’s NUVO magazine and Montreal-based La Presse as a result of media visits coordinated by Visit NC’s PR team. The articles reflect some of the state’s signature appeals including barbecue, NASCAR and scenic beauty.
The coverage in La Presse zoomed in on “Sam Jones BBQ: the spirit of the South” with a lead positing that “to our neighbors to the South, barbecue is to cooking what football is to sports.” In illuminating North Carolina’s most celebrated food tradition, the writer interviewed Jones and pitmaster Lindsay Bortle and discussed the technique for smoking whole hog over hickory. The impetus for the feature was a conversation between the writer and a Visit Raleigh representative during a pre-pandemic media mission organized by the Visit NC PR team. La Presse has a reach of more than 3.7 million unique monthly visitors.
The Vogue article “Why exactly this state should be on your next USA travel list
” opened with a spoiler alert promising “a little love letter to perhaps the most underrated (and completely unfairly) state in the USA.” As she detailed her family’s time in the Charlotte before heading to Southport, the writer commented on the state’s mountains-to-sea geography along with the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Kindred Spirits Mailbox, dolphin watching, dining and film locations. The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority and Brunswick County TDA provided hospitality. Vogue Germany reaches 2.5 million unique monthly visitors.
In “Playing the Tar Heel State: Discovering More Than Golf in Sanford, North Carolina
,” the NUVO writer began with a look at the state’s bountiful golf offerings – which include Mike Strantz’s legendary Tobacco Road course in Sanford. He continued with other highlights of his stay in Sanford: Carolina Trace Country Club, Circle M City, Yarborough’s Homemade Ice Cream & Grill and other points of interest. Visit Sanford provided hospitality. NUVO.com has a reach of 349,373 unique monthly visitors.
In other coverage, Duke University’s Sarah P. Duke Gardens, NC State University’s JC Rauston Arboretum and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Coker Arboretum were featured in Garden & Gun’s “Nine Campus Gardens That Bloom Bright in the South” as a result of the Visit NC PR team’s reactive pitching. Gardenandgun.com has a reach of 476,078 unique monthly visitors.
Vance County recognized as NC Certified Retirement Community
On Monday, Visit NC’s André Nabors presented Vance County with the NC Certified Retirement Community Program certificate. Nabors shared the program’s process and benefits to state and local officials at the presentation in Henderson. The distinction means the state has certified that Vance County has the infrastructure and amenities sought by retirees. In addition, Visit NC will provide promotional assistance to help encourage retirees to visit and relocate to those areas. Vance County met a rigorous set of requirements, including a comprehensive community survey and an asset assessment of the community's preparedness for retiree attraction. Now that it has been named a CRC, Vance County will work with Visit NC to promote the community
as a great relocation destination for retirees through RetireNC and consumer trade shows, such as Ideal Living Resort & Retirement Expos.
Visit North Carolina markets the NC Certified Retirement Community Program, which recognizes towns that are positioning themselves for retiree attraction as an economic and community development strategy. The recognized towns of the NC Certified Retirement Community Program now consist of Carteret County, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Jamestown/High Point, Johnston County, Laurinburg, Lenoir, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, New Bern, Reidsville, Roanoke Rapids, Salisbury, Tarboro, Vance County, Washington and Winterville. Once a community has completed the certification process, Visit NC helps 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. Vance County is the 18th community selected to the program. For more information on the NC Certified Retirement Community program, contact André Nabors at (919) 447-7771.
November offers the ‘Military Issue’
For its November edition, Our State magazine offers the “Military Issue,” and also a photo essay that celebrates the sweet potato in the state. “Restaurant” samples The Rosebriar Restaurant in Albemarle; "Outdoors" goes shell fishing at Holden Beach; “Quirky Detour” visits Stone Knoll in Chapel Hill; and “Festival” celebrates the NC Cotton Festival in Dunn. The November issue is available now
For the week of Oct. 24, "North Carolina Weekend” offers "A Seat at the Table.” Featured segments include Nile Ethiopian Restaurant & Grocery in Charlotte; Highlands Butchery in Valdese; Magnolia 23 in Asheboro; B&B Food Store in Hildebran; and Smith’s Smokehouse and Smoothies in Wake Forest. (Check local listings, as
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
150 Fayetteville St., Ste 1200, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27601, United States
