 In this issue:
• Regional Division marketing updates start tomorrow
• Fall campaign launches with public relations, digital and VisitNC.com efforts
• Surveys, Industry, Marketing & Travel Trends
...and more
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| Regional Division marketing updates start tomorrow; registration still open |  | | Participants network at a previous MYMU |
The Division's Mid-Year Marketing Update regional sessions kick-off tomorrow (Thursday) in Wilmington with the next in Manteo on Friday. Registration will be held onsite. Make plans to attend one of these free, interactive sessions in Wilmington, Manteo, Asheville or Winston-Salem. Historic changes are coming to the N.C. Dept. of Commerce and the Division of Tourism, Film & Sports Development. Learn how these changes will impact the state's tourism marketing efforts at the Division's annual Mid-Year Marketing Updates. This year's updates will cover
- Changes to the Dept. of Commerce and the Division
- Information on first year results from the new VisitNC.com
- The target marketing program slated for Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
- A new social media initiative highlighting the 150th observance of the Carolinas Campaign during the Civil War
- The full range of the state's marketing programs and more
- Updates from N.C. Dept. of Cultural Resources and N.C. Dept. of Environment & Natural Resources
Registration is still open for the last two meetings scheduled from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm Oct. 2 at the Doubletree Hotel Biltmore Village in Asheville, and from 10:00 am - 12:30 pm Oct. 10 at the Winston-Salem Marriott (at the conclusion of the N.C. Tourism Leadership Conference). The regional forums will feature Executive Director Wit Tuttell and representatives from the state's agency partners, LGA, DCI and Journal Communications. Similar to last year, the meetings will allow for partner input and discussion. |
| Fall campaign launches with public relations, digital and VisitNC.com efforts. | 
As fall color starts to appear in the state's highest elevations, the Division's fall campaign is also under way. This year, the Division has partnered with several groups to showcase fall color and activities across the state to travelers nationwide - from foliage to wildlife to unique experiences.
The Division has partnered with N.C. State Parks to provide up-to-date, concise and engaging fall color, fishing and wildlife reports on VisitNC.com. Park rangers across the state will be on-the-ground reporters, sending in real-time photos and descriptions of fall color's progress and activities taking place in their areas so potential visitors stay informed and inspired.
This year's fall digital media buy promotes a combination of traditional fall color, fishing and activity messaging as well as a special focus on music inspired by North Carolina. Branded background on WeatherBug's desktop apps will drive users to fall content and reports, and tablet advertising will be tested using the Division's fall color video. "NC Vibe Radio," a Pandora-branded station inspired by the sounds and artists of North Carolina, will be promoted via Pandora advertising and social efforts. From there, users can add the station and click-through to learn more about some of North Carolina's iconic music venues, including videos that will launch in October. In addition, a full slate of standard display banners will run across targeted publishers and ad networks, including retargeting efforts, to drive users to VisitNC.com content including fall color, outdoor adventure, beer, and music plus festivals and events.
Be sure to follow the Division's social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to engage with and share your own fall stories and imagery.
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| RetireNC promoted at the Ideal Living expo in N.J. |  | The Division’s Andre Nabors (lf)
and Fearrington Village’s Nathalie
Condoret (center) listen intently
to attendees |
Tourism Development Manager André Nabors and Division representative Ashlee Kirk promoted North Carolina as a retirement destination at the Ideal Living Resort & Retirement Expo in Whippany, N.J., this past weekend. The Expo drew approximately 800 potential retirees from the region interested in exploring opportunities and conversing with exhibitors from across the Southeast. Attendees talked with experts from towns and community developers to gain insights and get answers to help plan, design and enjoy their retirement. North Carolina has consistently been one of the most requested states by the attendees. The Division attended the Expo, along with community partners from Fearrington Village Real Estate, to continue its efforts to promote the N.C. Certified Retirement Community Program, which consists of Asheboro, Eden, Edenton, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, Pittsboro, Sanford, and Tarboro. For more information about the Certified Retirement Community Program or the Division's marketing initiatives for retirement relocation, contact Andre Nabors at (919) 733-7502.
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| Lumbee Pow Wow featured by NYC Media | 
The return on investment continues to rise for a Division-sponsored media trip to the 2014 Lumbee Spring Powwow in Lumberton. Partnering with the Lumberton VB, the Division supported the May visit by Mickela Mallozzi of the NYC Media network’s Bare Feet cultural travel show. In addition to featuring the event, the show discussed the importance and heritage of the Lumbee tribe plus the history of the area. The 26-minute “Dance of the Spring Moon” segment generated $300,000 in media value with its initial five airings in July. This week, it became part of the video-on-demand lineup to add $21,300 in media value. NYC Media plans to televise the segment five more times in October. NYC Media, part of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, is the official TV, radio and online network of New York City, informing, educating and entertaining New Yorkers. |
| Charlotte region-filmed Tusk opens this weekend | |
The Charlotte region-filmed horror-comedy Tusk opens in theaters this weekend. Tusk filmed in Gaston and Mecklenburg counties during the later part of 2013 and had a direct in-state spend in excess of $2 million while creating more than 145 job opportunities. It credited North Carolina’s 25 percent refundable tax credit for productions and talented crew base as being the main reasons for choosing to film in the state. Written and directed by Kevin Smith, the film stars Justin Long, Michael Parks and Haley Joel Osment. The story is about a podcaster who travels to Canada to interview an old man with an incredible past, only to discover the man has a dark secret and a plan that involves a walrus. The movie premiered to wild reviews earlier this month at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival. |
| N.C.-filmed series’ latest seasons hit DVD | 
The inaugural season of Fox’s Sleepy Hollow debuted this week on DVD. Sleepy Hollow filmed mostly in the Wilmington region. The package includes all 13 episodes of the critically acclaimed series as well as extras that include a gag reel, deleted scenes, audio commentaries, a closer look at the Headless Horseman, and a behind-the-scenes look courtesy of “Welcome to Sleepy Hollow.” The production was recruited to North Carolina by the N.C. Film Office, who has established a strong working relationship with 20th Century Fox Television. Based in Wilmington, the first season of Sleepy Hollow was expected to result in a direct in-state spend in excess of $25 million while creating more close to 5,000 job opportunities. In addition to Wilmington, the show has filmed in Burgaw and other area surrounding coastal communities as well as at historic Tryon Palace and other New Bern-area locations. The pilot for the series was shot last year in Charlotte, Gastonia and Salisbury. "Sleepy Hollow" has been renewed for a second season and filming is currently underway in North Carolina.
The third season of Showtime’s Homeland is also now available on DVD. The package includes all 12 episodes as well as special features on some of the season’s most challenging locations, some deleted scenes and an audio commentary of the season finale with actor Damian Lewis. The series filmed in the Charlotte its first three seasons. For its first two seasons, it was estimated to have had an overall direct in-state spend in excess of $80 million while providing more than 8,000 job opportunities, including 150 well-paying crew positions each season for the state’s highly trained film professionals. The fourth season of Homeland filmed overseas for creative reasons.
Both series were part of another record-breaking year in 2013 for the film industry in the North Carolina that saw more than 60 productions register with the N.C. Film Office. All of the productions resulted in having an estimated direct in-state spend in excess of $243 million while creating more than 4,000 well-paying crew positions and nearly 25,000 total job opportunities in the state over the course of 5,700+ production days.
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| Hornets leadership: Name change made good business sense | |
There was little doubt among executives that bringing the Charlotte Hornets back home would win over fans. But what top officials had to consider before they could resurrect the teal and purple was if the numbers would match the nostalgia. “We wanted to make sure that we were making data-driven decisions,” said Pete Guelli, with the Hornets. “We did a tremendous amount of research.” That research included gauging whether fans would buy the merchandise, respond well to a redesigned basketball court and still watch games on TV. The answer was yes. A study by an independent market research firm showed that “80-plus percent” of Charlotte Bobcats fans wanted to see Hugo back in the arena, reported the Hornets’ Fred Whitfield. “Every metric we measure our business by – ticket sales, sponsorships, web traffic, social media – has been positively affected by the rebranding,” Guelli said. That includes 3,500 new season tickets sold this year and five game merchandising records broken within the first month of the redesign’s announcement. |
| 'Raleigh's got Festival Fever' | 
About 15 percent of the 13.2 million people who visited Wake County last year – including both locals and travelers – came for music events, many in Raleigh. Last year, World of Bluegrass had an estimated economic impact of $10 million, bringing about 150,000 people into the city’s streets, hotels, restaurants and retail businesses, reports the Greater Raleigh CVB. That’s on par with Wilkesboro’s annual MerleFest, one of the state’s largest and most popular annual bluegrass festivals. Landing World of Bluegrass has been in the works for years, but without local festivals, larger attractions such as World of Bluegrass and Farm Aid wouldn’t come to Raleigh, says Loren Gold with the GRCVB. “It’s a key branding element to make Raleigh a destination for people that like all types of music genres. Are we the music capital of the Southeast? We can’t say that, but are we the music capital of North Carolina? That’s the road we are starting to go down and events like these help build that brand. When we went to IBMA [in Nashville] in 2011, there were no signs in the airport. It wasn’t until we got to the hotel that we saw signs that said, ‘Welcome, World of Bluegrass.’ Nashville has a lot of music. Our pitch was: Come be a big fish in a small pond. We know how to close down streets and attract people to Raleigh.” One-third of the people who visit Wake County spend at least $100, bringing new money into the economy. “We go after events that are going to generate big visitation and big room nights,” says Gold about the ongoing push to lure more large music festivals to Raleigh. “They bring more funding.” |
| Asheville area breweries investing millions, adding staff | |
Asheville's craft brewery boom continues to see explosive growth, with local beer producers dropping millions on expansions and staff. The $175 million New Belgium brewery going up in West Asheville along the French Broad River stands out as the area's biggest project, and it reflects the nation's growing preference for craft beer, such as IPAs, pale ales, bitters and others styles. Year-to-date sales for craft beer are up 20 percent in 2014 from 2013 numbers, according to the Brewers Association trade group. Overall, craft beer was 7.8 percent of beer sold in 2013, the association said. Green Man is planning a $4 million expansion that will include a 17,000-square-foot packaging building with a rooftop beer garden tasting area. Asheville Brewing is adding more tanks to meet the demand for beer. Highland Brewing, which opened in 1994 as the region's first craft brewery, is spending about $6 million on an expansion. Sierra Nevada has almost 100 employees at its Mills River brewery, a number that will double in the near future. In addition, it plans to begin regular brewhouse tours in mid-October. The demand is boosted by Asheville's place as a nationally known tourist destination and a "tremendous emphasis on locally produced products," says Jennifer McLucas with the Asheville Brewers Alliance. |
| Microbrew Madness spotlights Foothills Brewing | |
The Travel Channel offers the video “Crafts Beers at N.C.’s Foothills” that visits Winston-Salem and Foothills Brewing, as part of its Microbrew Madness Web series. Host Lori Griffis samples several IPAs and food dishes during the segment. |
| Restaurant: Impossible works with Fort Bragg restaurant | 
Tonight (Wednesday), Green Beret Grill in Fort Bragg will be featured on the Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible, which follows Chef Robert Irvine as he travels to restaurants across the United States. With $10,000 and two days, Irvine works to prevent these businesses from closing. Day one is spent examining the restaurant by observing the staff and kitchen and finding their weak spots. Then, Irvine updates the menu, retrains the staff and works on renovations with the help of his design team. To ensure there is a full house on the day of the grand re-opening at the end of day two, Irvine hits the streets and talks to community members about the improved restaurant. The “Military: Impossible” episode airs tonight at 10 p.m. with repeats scheduled later. |
| Asheville among ‘Best Fall Bike Rides’ | |
After picking the brains of the experts – everyone from members of local bike clubs to leaders of large tour operators – U.S. News & World Report announced its choices for “America's Best Fall Bike Rides,” which included Asheville. Michael Biggs with Asheville Cycling said that one of his favorite fall routes traces the Elk Mountain Scenic Highway, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Town Mountain Road. |
| Asheville scores among 10Best lists | 
For it's "Iconic Southern Restaurants," 10Best mused, “From humble little cafes to ubiquitous chain restaurants, Southern food can be found in nearly every corner of every state in the country. But to truly appreciate the spirit and flavors of classic Southern fare, it's best to head straight to the source.” 10Best, as reported by USA Today, offered it choices for the region's best options for enjoying traditional Southern favorites, such as Early Girl Eatery in Asheville, noting, “One of Asheville's most popular anytime eating places, Early Girl reflects the youthful, earnest nature of its home city. The lengthy menu of made-from-scratch items alternates between Southern classics and modern dishes rooted in Western North Carolina's considerable culinary history.”
A photo essay 10Best list, “Hotels for Fall Leaf-Peeping,” included the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville with its view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Of The Hotel, the list noted, “Tucked within the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, the Omni Grove Park Inn offers sweeping fall views right from the property. At the resort spa's year round outdoor pagoda, you can even unwind with a massage and do some leaf-peeping at the same time.” Of The View, the article said, “Asheville and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains have no shortage of colorful fall scenery. Start your explorations with a visit to the Biltmore Estate to see the Vanderbilt mansion in all its autumn glory. The region is brimming with scenic hikes and drives, including the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway.”
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| Fall Litter Sweep starts Saturday |
Folks who enjoy North Carolina's natural beauty should consider showing the state how much it's appreciated by lending a hand during the N.C. Dept. of Transportation's Fall Litter Sweep, starting Saturday, Sept. 20, and running through Oct. 4. This offers volunteers the opportunity to help keep North Carolina clean and beautiful by picking up trash along roadsides across the state. In addition to volunteers, NCDOT maintenance crews, Adopt-A-Highway groups, N.C. Dept. of Public Safety inmate squads and community service workers will participate in Fall Litter Sweep. Volunteers should contact their local NCDOT county maintenance office to obtain cleanup supplies. A list of local NCDOT contacts, as well as forms, posters and other materials, can be found here. For more information, visit the Litter Sweep website or call (800) 331-5864.
Litter Sweep is a statewide roadside litter cleanup drive sponsored by the N.C. Dept. of Transportation. It is usually scheduled for the last two weeks of April and September. The NCDOT Office of Beautification administers the spring and fall Litter Sweeps.
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| Moody heading Beech Mountain tourism & economic development | 
Leigh Ann Moody is the new director of tourism and economic development for the town of Beech Mountain. She may be contacted at (828) 387-9283 or via tda@beechmtn.com. |
| Surveys, Industry, Marketing & Travel Trends | Social media is the least popular method of customer service - Recently, Skift started a new series of consumer surveys, “Travel Habits of Americans 2014,” focusing on the big-picture travel habits of Americans. One survey addressed customer service preferences of Americans while they are traveling. Skift asked Americans about their customer service habits when things go wrong in their travels. Turns out, in this digital age, the phone still remains the most popular tool for getting customer service from travel brands, while social media, touted all around as the new customer service tool, is the least popular with Americans.
The shifting lodging preferences of travelers - Travelers’ preferences for certain types of lodging accommodations continue to evolve, as evidenced by data from the MMGY Global "2014 Portrait of American Travelers," with proportionately more travelers now using “alternatives” to traditional hotels/motels than ever before. Specifically, three quarters of travelers stayed in a hotel or motel on at least one occasion in 2014. Four in 10 stayed in someone else’s private residence, while two in 10 stayed in a resort during the past 12 months. And the incidence of the patronage of cruise ships, campgrounds and vacation condominium rentals continued to grow. Millennial travelers are significantly less likely than older travelers to have stayed in a hotel or motel on a leisure trip during the past 12 months, while Xers are significantly less likely than Millennials, Boomers or Matures to have stayed in someone else’s private residence.
Millennials are significantly more likely than older travelers to have stayed in a resort, campground or a rented vacation home or condominium.
Grab-and-Go here to stay - Call it the new golden age of hotel dining. Hoteliers are finding themselves once again in love with lodging sector food & beverage. And it’s helping hotels add more to the bottom line, if done correctly that is. These days, dining is different. People have long moved from the days of pomp and circumstance surrounding meal time and have moved into the realm of casual and fast dining where hanging out with a craft beer or getting something from the grab-and-go is more the norm than white table cloth dining. The biggest changes are, of course, how hoteliers are activating the lobby to make it more social and therefore sell more cocktails while traditional room service seems to be teetering on the brink of irrelevancy. One industry professional notes the main problem customers have with room service is not just the high cost to the hotel at delivering this amenity, but many times guests have trouble staying awake long enough for the food to arrive, especially if they are part of the late night post bar crowd. So some hotels are positioning a grab-and-go between the bar and guestrooms.
Making business travel more personal for Next-Gen business travelers – Some road warriors want to get in and get out. Others? They see a silver lining in the increasing amount of travel they’re doing for work – by considering turning it into a vacation. Indeed, with 2014 U.S. business travel spending expected to grow 6.6 percent to $289.8 billion, according to the Global Business Travel Association, some executives said the biggest reason to maximize that increased time on the road is to discover the region. The chance to explore the area topped the list of reasons road warriors surveyed would turn a business trip into a vacation. Next-Gen travelers especially view this opportunity as a good one, with 42.2 percent of those aged 18-24 saying it’s a reason to extend their trips. One-third, or 33.9 percent of travelers aged 35-44, surveyed said the same, but 23.2 percent also cited using the business expense to help cut overall costs as a reason to turn their trips into a vacation. Affluent business travelers also see the benefit of extending their stay, with 44.8 percent of those earning $75,000 to $99,000 saying they would do so to see the area, and 45.5 percent of those earning $100,000 to $149,000 saying they would do so to visit friends and family in the area.
Marriott keeps eyes on millennials – As Marriott International plunges into the biggest hotel development push in the company’s history, it is doing so with a close eye on the Generation X and millennial traveler. Marriott officials said this week during an investor day meeting that the tens of thousands of rooms that will be added to its system during the next three years will be designed with younger travelers in mind. Marriott's Stephanie Linnartz said people who are of Generation X age and younger comprise 70 percent of the working population and will represent 87 percent of the workforce by 2024. That growing demographic underscores the importance of ensuring the rooms and hotels added to the portfolio suit the needs of these guests. For instance, these travelers do not want heavy furniture or abundant closet space in guestrooms. Plenty of electrical outlets also will be on hand to accommodate mobile devices.
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 | | NC GreenTravel: Sustainability for music festivals | |
Music festivals across North Carolina are popular visitor events that support local economies and community quality of living. These festivals often attract visitors from across the demographic spectrum, helping to increase a region’s visibility and promote amenities attractive to small business and company development. For most music festivals, sustainability (e.g. recycling, waste management, energy conservation) has been a corner stone of their planning and continues to expand and improve with each passing year. The Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in Silk Hope offers a number of sustainable opportunities such as composting and recycling bins, the utilization of solar energy, access to locally grown foods, and a firm commitment to water conservation and preservation of the local woodlands. The success of the recycling initiative at the Mountain Song Festival in Brevard is attributed to dedicated volunteers as well as the cooperation of local food vendors who serve on compostable ware so that everything can be recycled or composted. In 2013, the festival recycled 80 percent of the total waste with its sights set for 100 percent recycling of food waste this year. For more information on greening events and festivals, click here, or contact NC GreenTravel program manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140. For more information on sustainable tourism, contact Daniel Johnson with the Center for Sustainable Tourism at ECU at (252) 737-4296.
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North Carolina Weekend
Due to special programming on PBS, UNC-TV will air North Carolina Weekend on a different schedule this week: Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday/Saturday at midnight and on Saturday at 10 a.m. For this week’s show, celebrate Mountain Heritage Day in Cullowhee. Get back to nature at Elk Knob State Park in Todd. Take in the National Model A Tour event in Cary. Step back in time at Dellinger’s Mill in Bakersville. And the “House Special” samples the fare at The Friendly Market in Morehead City. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend is underwritten by the N.C. Division of Tourism. In addition, UNC-TV has made recent editions of North Carolina Weekendavailable online.
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The average overnight travel party size for all Mountain Region visitors was 2.0 people. Twenty-one percent of the travel parties to the region included children in the party. The average Piedmont visitor party was somewhat smaller with 1.8 persons and 22 percent of parties including children. Coastal Region parties were the largest of the geographic regions with 2.1 persons and were more likely to include children (33 percent). For more 2013 visitor profile information, click here. For more information, contact Tourism Research Manager Marlise Taylor at (919) 733-7278. |
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| Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events | Sept. 18 - MPI-CC Chapter Meeting, Durham
Sept. 18 - Division's Mid-Year Marketing Update, Wilmington
Sept. 19 - Division's Mid-Year Marketing Update, Manteo
Sept. 21-22 - Restaurant & Lodging Trade Expo, Raleigh
Sept. 24-25 - Blue Ridge Parkway Assn. Regional Meeting, Bedford, Va.
Oct. 2 - Division's Mid-Year Marketing Update, Asheville
Oct. 8-10 – N.C. Tourism Leadership Conference, Winston-Salem
Oct. 10 - Division's Mid-Year Marketing Update, Winston-Salem
Oct. 10 - N.C. Sports Association Quarterly Meeting, Winston-Salem
Oct. 14-16 - STS Fall Forum, Charleston, S.C.
Oct. 16 - N.C. Coast Host Quarterly Meeting, Topsail Island
Oct. 20-22 - Marketing Outlook Forum, Atlanta, Ga.
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Mailing Address:
4324 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4324 | Building Location:
301 North Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-1058 |
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