| Weekly e-newsletter for VisitNC partners | September 20, 2017 |
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| IN THIS ISSUE:
* TRAC coming to Washington/Beaufort County region tomorrow * Fall of Fame returns to VisitNC
* Special AJC travel section highlights N.C. destinations |
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 | | | A previous TRAC in Hertford |
TRAC coming to Washington/Beaufort County region tomorrow
Tomorrow, tourism-related businesses in Washington and the Beaufort County regional area - including the surrounding counties - will have an opportunity to work with Visit North Carolina staff to learn about its research, development and marketing services, and discuss best practices in reaching travelers, the media and increasing tourism visitation and spending. Visit NC's Tourism Resource Assistance Center (TRAC) is a community-based training program designed to help small tourism-related businesses. The TRAC event will be held 10 am - 2 pm at the Washington Civic Center at 110 N. Gladden St. in Washington. There is no charge to attend, no reservation is required, and there are no PowerPoint presentations. This is a come-when-you-can/stay-as-long-as-you'd-like event opportunity for all tourism-related businesses to meet one-on-one with program managers to discuss better ways to promote their property or event. TRAC brings Visit NC's program managers to local communities to discuss the nuts and bolts of working with the organization. This invaluable program is designed to help tourism-related businesses engage more fully with programs offered by Visit NC and its partners. Representatives from the EDPNC's BLNC, N.C. Dept. of Commerce, N.C. Dept. of Natural & Cultural Resources and NC GreenTravel will also be on hand to discuss services they can provide businesses, including strategic planning, assisting with identifying funding sources and serving as liaisons with other local, state and federal agencies. For additional information on this session or to learn more about scheduling a TRAC visit to your community, contact Andre Nabors at (919) 447-7771. |
 Fall of Fame returns to VisitNC
Visit North Carolina's Fall of Fame is back for a third year, building on past success and pulling forward with some new initiatives as well. Fall of Fame weekly themes will kick off on Oct. 1, inspired by the emotions of the season: Festive, Serene, Vibrant, Crisp, Spontaneous and Warm. Each week's theme inspires travelers and followers to post their own #NCFallofFame photos and videos inspired by those feelings, from which the Visit NC team will select one weekly "inductee" who will be showcased on VisitNC.com/ncfalloffame and prized a Fall of Fame branded goodie bag. Content and social efforts will support Fall of Fame with custom type treatments and social videos by theme, weekly enewsletters, relevant links to Visit NC content, and social posts and engagement including content and visual inspiration.
Destination and attraction partners across the state are encouraged to follow #NCFallofFame on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and post their own inspiring content using the hashtag, as well as to motivate visitors to do the same. Visit NC will also continue the success of fall reports, sourcing real time information from State and National Parks partners as well as our photographers and content partners across the state to feed visitors the latest on fall color and activity across the state, all housed at VisitNC.com/fall. |
 Special AJC travel section highlights N.C. destinations
Destinations from Asheville to the Outer Banks were featured in a special Southeast Travel: North Carolina section in last Sunday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Writer Hope Scamehorn Philbrick reached out to Visit NC and partners for both news leads and intriguing historic attractions. North Carolina coverage filled two pages with a rundown that included Bellyak paddles on the French Broad River in Asheville, the 5506' Skybar in Beech Mountain, the launch of Dream Hotels' new Unscripted brand in Durham, Mayberry Spirits in Mount Airy, H2OBX Waterpark on the Outer Banks and the Colony Farm Urban Store in Winston-Salem. Sunday circulation for the Journal-Constitution is 287,346; the online edition has a reach of 8 million unique monthly visitors. Atlanta is one of North Carolina's top markets for overnight visitation. |
 Wilmington region learns about visitor research for N.C.
Visit NC's Marlise Taylor participated in the Wilmington and Beaches CVB's annual marketing meeting last week. Taylor presented visitor profile information, and in particular focused on shifts and opportunities with regards to visitor demographics and mindsets. The meeting drew approximately 50 attendees, including representatives from hotels, attractions and events in New Hanover County. For more information on Visit NC's tourism research, contact Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748. |
| | The RetireNC booth saw
steady traffic | |
RetireNC sees strong response at Ideal Living
Expo in New York Visit NC's Andre Nabors, along with Reidsville, Sanford and Greenville/Winterville, promoted North Carolina as a retirement destination at the Ideal Living Resort & Retirement Expo in Long Island, N.Y., Sept. 16-17. The Expo drew approximately 500 potential retirees from the region who were 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. Visit North Carolina attended the Expo to continue its efforts to promote the N.C. Certified Retirement Community Program, which consists of Asheboro, Eden, Edenton, Jamestown/High Point, Laurinburg, Lenoir, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, New Bern, Pittsboro, Reidsville, Sanford, Tarboro and Winterville. For more information about the Certified Retirement Community Program or Visit North Carolina's marketing initiatives for retirement relocation, contact Andre Nabors at (919) 447-7771.
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| | | Comments were made by production officials after the 'Three Billboard' screening |
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri wins TIFF People's Choice Award
N.C.-filmed Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won the Grolsch People's Choice Award at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, signifying the Toronto audiences' favorite Festival film. The production shot in Spring 2016 with filming taking place in Jackson, Buncombe and Haywood counties. The production had a direct in-state spend in excess of $12.6 million. |
Study: Charlotte region's arts boost economy by $359M
Arts and culture groups, venues and events generated $359 million in the Charlotte region in 2015, according to a newly updated economic study by national nonprofit Americans for the Arts. This is the first time the locally based Arts & Science Council has had the region studied rather than just Mecklenburg County. County arts impact - measured in previous studies - increased by 20 percent to $343 million from the prior analysis published in 2012, which reflected figures from 2010. The Arts & Economic Study 5 measured the economic impact of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, as well as their audiences in the 16-county Greater Charlotte Region, which includes Lancaster County in South Carolina. |
 Durham Bulls win Triple-A national championship
The Durham Bulls will bring their second Triple-A national championship back to North Carolina. The International League champion Bulls rallied past the Pacific Coast League champion Memphis Redbirds Tuesday (last) night to win the Triple-A title game in Moosic, Pa. With five International League championships, Durham has now won the overall Triple-A national title twice. |
 'There's more in Chapel Hill than the Tar Heels,
a family finds'
In its Travel section last week, The Washington Post offered "There's more in Chapel Hill than the Tar Heels, a family finds." The writer, his wife and son traveled to Chapel Hill for their family spring break vacation, visiting favorite stops from previous trips but mostly vowing to discover new-to-them and unfamiliar sites. |
Take-out food in Durham goes green
Durham is home to an exciting new program to reduce trash and food waste. The community group Don't Waste Durham is making great strides in waste reduction throughout the city. The organization's founder and Executive Director, Crystal Dreisbach, has taken Durham's food scene to a new level of sustainability by taking the lead in creating the East Coast's first city-wide returnable/reusable takeout container service: "GreenToGo." When one considers the impact of take-out containers on landfills, the figures become astounding. An estimated 10,000 take-out containers are sent to the landfill every month in the Durham. In the Green to Go program, diners can become members of the GreenToGo for an annual fee of $25, a small price to pay for being more sustainable. Via a phone app, users can select the GreenToGo box for takeout or leftovers. After consuming the food, they can just return the box to any participating restaurant or public return stations. The GreenToGo team collects the dirty boxes, washes and sanitizes them in a commercial dishwasher to be redistributed to participating restaurants. The program has great potential for keeping waste out of the landfill. For more information about Don't Waste Durham, GreenToGo and other ways to reduce restaurant waste, contact NC GreenTravel Manager Tom Rhodes at (919) 707-8140. |
| | Due to PBS' special programming, North Carolina Weekend won't air this Thursday (tomorrow). This week's episode will air on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. on UNC-TV. On North Carolina Weekend for the week of Sept. 21, meet some of the residents at Serpentarium Magic in Mills River. Explore several of the eateries that make Banner Elk a food destination. Discover new flavors for an old favorite at The Popcorn Fanatic in Winston-Salem. Enjoy the great outdoors at Mount Jefferson State Natural Area in West Jefferson. And tempt your taste buds at The Tavern at Jack's Neck in Belhaven. (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 top states of origin of overnight visitors to the Mountain Region were North Carolina (43 percent), South Carolina (12 percent), Georgia (9 percent), Tennessee (7 percent), Virginia (6 percent) and Florida (6 percent). For more North Carolina visitor information, visit the Visitor Profile Studies or contact Marlise Taylor at (919) 447-7748.
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Upcoming Industry Meetings & Events
Sept. 21 - Visit NC TRAC, Washington Oct. 26 - NC Coast Host Quarterly Meeting, Wilson Nov. 9-10 - MPC-CC Meeting, Greensboro |
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