Weekly e-newsletter for Visit NC partners | September 16, 2020 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE:
* Visit NC webinar highlights Tourism Promotion Grant, additional offerings for Marketing Credit Program * Visit NC PR efforts lead to Spookywoods among '10 of the Scariest Haunted Houses in America'
* Count On Me NC continues to grow - is your business participating?
* Film production resumes in North Carolina
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Visit NC webinar highlights Tourism Promotion Grant, additional offerings for Marketing Credit Program
For the webinar today (Wednesday), Visit NC featured the $1.5 million Tourism Promotion Grant program, plus the latest offerings for the Marketing Credit Program, and provided an update on Count On Me NC. Visit NC's Wit Tuttell explained the Tourism Promotion Grant Program, a result of the CARES Act. The grant program is designed for DMOs to provide relief to areas of the state most dependent on tourism to assist with tourism promotion. The needs-based grant funding is available in $10,000 and $15,000 increments, based on a county's tourism dependence. Visit NC's Heidi Walters unveiled plans to assist the meetings & conventions industry in the state with three planned half-day virtual tradeshow events. One would be drive-in markets, one for SMERFs (social, military, education, religious, fraternal groups), featuring small markets with a regional feel; and one for association, corporate and national meeting planners. There would be a minimum of 20 qualified planners per show with round robin appointments, too. The tradeshows are one of the available options for the Marketing Credit Program. For more information, contact Heidi Walters at (919) 447-7762.
LGA's Hailey Weddington unveiled the newest, additional offerings for the Marketing Credit Program, ranging in subject type to media specialty. Visit NC's Allison Schult provided an update on the rapidly expanding Count On Me NC program. The webinar concluded with a Q&A. There will not be a webinar next Wednesday, Sept.23. The next webinar will be Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 10 a.m. Visit NC's Heidi Walters and NC Association of Festival & Events' Stephanie Saintsing Naset will look at at Hosting Safe Events and Festivals. Click here to register. |
Visit NC PR efforts lead to Spookywoods among '10 of the Scariest Haunted Houses in America'
Efforts by Visit NC's PR team have led to Spookywoods among OprahMag.com's "10 of the Scariest Haunted Houses in America." Spookywoods was featured in a roundup pitch by the PR team of North Carolina haunted attractions, and the website for Oprah magazine selected Spookywoods for its article. Of Spookywoods, at Kersey Valley in Archdale, the article explained, "Look, it's right there in the name: This is haunted ground. 'From the moment you arrive on Kersey Valley property, you are fair game to each and every haunted creature residing here,' the site warns. The tour offers a veritable small town of hair-raising sets, and actors in admirably-detailed costumes." OprahMag.com reaches 618,000 unique monthly visitors. |
Count On Me NC continues to grow - is your business participating? |  |
Count On Me NC continues to grow with more businesses and employees participating, plus more individuals taking the pledge to do their part. But there's still more room to join this important initiative. It only takes about 30 minutes for a business to complete the online training - then the business can be listed under Participating Businesses for consumers to find them via an easy-to-use search. Count On Me NC is open to restaurants and lodging properties, but it's also open to attractions and retail operations, plus other businesses. To date, the website has had more than 100,000 unique visitors, with 10,400 individuals taking the pledge to do their part. Morre than 14,700 training completion certificates have been issued to employees at businesses within all 100 counties, and more than 3,400 participating businesses are now appearing on the website. Count On Me NC has had a great deal of success across the various media tactics implemented - more than 41.3 million impressions, nearly 10.85 million completed video views and almost 65,500 total clicks. Resulting PR/media coverage of the campaign has garnered more than 22.4 million impressions.
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Count On Me NC featured in Destination Analysts webinar
As part of its weekly video series due to the pandemic, Destination Analysts featured Count On Me NC. An overview video explained the program, noting businesses will find the training in both English and Spanish, plus have access to marketing and additional resources in both languages. After completing the 30-minute training, potential customers can find participating businesses using a quick, simple search. To date, the website has had more than 100,000 unique visitors, with 10,400 individuals taking the pledge to do their part. Visit NC's Allison Schult explained part of the plan behind the program, such as noting Americans are mostly tired of hearing about COVID-19 so wanted to engage consumers via humor. She noted the number of participating businesses and individual employees, plus the number of individuals who have taken their own pledge to do their part. Cabarrus County CVB's Mike Bonoffski spoke of how the CVB was among the "early adopters" of Count On Me NC, and worked to implement it on the county level for their partners and visitors. Bonoffski stated how tourism spending has been affected by the pandemic, which also resulted in staff cuts. With CVB spending halted, the CVB took advantage of the no-cost initiative, communicating with their partners and enforcing the benefits of participating. With the program on VisitCabarrus.com for visitors and reinforcing Count On Me NC through their partner enewsletters with follow-up contact, the CVB is seeing a strong implementation with partners. View Destination Analysts' "September 15th Update on COVID-19's Impact on American Travel" here (Count On Me NC segment starts at 25:40). |
Research shows more Americans planning for fall travel
While expectations regarding the severity of the pandemic remain elevated yet stable, there has been an increase in the number of American travelers who are planning travel. This week, more than 78 percent of travelers report that they, at least tentatively, have a trip planned, up from 75 percent last week. More than one-third of travelers report that they will be traveling this fall, up 5 percent from last week. Excitement to travel and interest in new travel information continues to grow as well, reports Destination Analysts.
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Longwoods International reports that Americans who plan to travel this fall will continue to participate in outdoor activities in addition to visiting with friends and family. Top activities include road trips, visiting a state or national park, viewing fall foliage, hiking, biking, and farmers markets. |
As travelers continue to research destinations prior to travel, official state and local travel offices rank high on the list of trusted sources of information. Hotel websites also rank high with more than a quarter of travelers indicating they have used them to research virus-related rules and regulations.
Visit NC will be providing frequent research updates through Newslink with links to available studies. |
Film production resumes in North Carolina
With the help of public health officials, industry trade associations and alliances have developed protocols to aid in preventing the spread of COVID-19 at filming locations. Each production has a COVID-19 safety plan that provides extra precautions to protect those working in front of and behind the camera. "USS Christmas" is a made-for-television movie filming in the Wilmington region. Another made-for-television movie, "A Nashville Christmas Carol," will film in the Charlotte region. "Parkside" is a feature-length film that is a relaunch of a classic franchise with a modern twist; it's filming at the EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington. "Delilah" is a new series from Warner Bros. Television for OWN, and will film in and around Charlotte. Finally, the second season the Starz series "Hightown" will film in the Wilmington region. The N.C. Film and Entertainment Grant provides financial assistance to attract feature film and television productions that will stimulate economic activity and create jobs in the state. Production companies receive no money up front and must meet direct in-state spending requirements to qualify for grant funds. The program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce and promoted by the N.C. Film Office. In addition, production continues on several non-grant qualifying projects, including the latest seasons of the reality series "My Big, Fat, Fabulous Life" and "Love It or List It" in the Piedmont Triad and Triangle regions, respectively. Two other Piedmont Triad-based projects have wrapped production: "Where's Rose" and "Secrets of the Zoo: North Carolina," the latter is slated to premiere on Nat Geo Wild in October. |
NC DHHS issues 'Interim Guidance for Fall-Related Events'
The N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services has issued "Interim Guidance for Fall-Related Events," as the fall season is here and many places across the state traditionally host seasonal events and have seasonal attractions. The information includes both requirements and recommendations, due to the pandemic. Topics include Social Distancing and Minimizing Exposure, Cloth Face Coverings, Cleaning and Hygiene, Monitoring for Symptoms, Protecting Vulnerable Populations, Combatting Misinformation, and Water and Ventilation Systems. |
Vote for N.C. lodging sites among favorite road trip experiences
North Carolina has several lodging sites among the nominations for 10Best's Readers' Choice Awards categories for favorite road trip experiences. Online voting by readers is now open via USAToday.com; click on the hyperlink to vote. Voting ends Oct. 12 at noon. |
McNeill new executive director for Raeford-Hoke Chamber
Liz McNeill is the new executive director for the Raeford-Hoke [County] Chamber of Commerce. She may be contacted at (910) 875-5929 or via rae-hokchamber@embarqmail.com. |
For the week of Sept. 17 on "North Carolina Weekend," the program repeats the episode that originally aired July 16, which highlighted "state parks and other treasures." Features include Bald Head Island, Grandfather Mountain in Linville, Crowders Mountain State Park in Kings Mountain, Tar River canoeing in Tarboro, Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, and elk in Maggie Valley. (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. |
Resources for travel industry regarding COVID-19
As the travel industry is facing challenging times in the ever-changing situation of COVID-19 and its effects, there are several useful resources available to help with information, communications, planning and guidance. |
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