All-Star Round-Up
The NHL All-Star Weekend will go down in the record books for the Raleigh area, which warmly welcomed more than 100,000 fans, residents, visitors and media to North Carolina’s Capital City. The weekend proved to be a resounding success, and when it was over, the host Carolina Hurricanes and the Greater Raleigh area received glowing reviews from NHL officials as well as from media members from around the world. The final economic impact report will not be available until late February, but recent host cities had all reported economic impact in the range of $10 million or more. In addition, Raleigh stands to benefit from tens of millions of dollars in media exposure generated by the more than 400 journalists who traveled to the Capital City for the international event.

A big thank you goes out to the primary host partners of All-Star Weekend including the Carolina Hurricanes, Raleigh Local Organizing Committee, City of Raleigh, Wake County, the Centennial Authority, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Greater Raleigh Sports Council, Raleigh Convention Center and RDU Airport Authority. The NHL All-Star 5K presented by visitRaleigh attracted almost 2,000 runners and raised money for the Hurricanes' Kids n' Community Foundation. More than 30,000 fans visited the NHL Fan Fair in the Raleigh Convention Center, and the All-Star Wide Open drew overflow crowds to the Fayetteville Street area and the Raleigh Amphitheater. The NHL reported record numbers and statistical increases across the board for 2011 All-Star Weekend, including TV ratings, sponsorship revenue, retail sales, website traffic and social media activity.

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Media Praise
More than 400 journalists from national and international print, online, television and radio outlets descended on the Raleigh area to report on the NHL All-Star Game and weekend festivities. What came out of a seemingly normal sporting event was an impression of the area that bestowed praise for our hospitality, venues and people that left many speechless. For a compilation of some of the best quotes and articles that came from the weekend, click here.

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Doughnut Delight
Quiz – how many doughnuts did the Krispy Kreme Challenge use? The answer 90,000--that’s one dozen doughnuts for each of the record-breaking 7,500 registered participants. One of Raleigh’s most unique and popular events has participants running two miles from the N.C. State campus (at the Bell Tower on Hillsborough Street) to the Krispy Kreme store on Peace Street, attempting to eat a dozen doughnuts, then racing the two miles back to campus... while not “losing” any doughnuts along the way. Bureau staff members including Loren Gold, Gray Henderson, Jason Philbeck and Graham Rountree didn’t manage to eat a dozen donuts each, but they did complete the race for team visitRaleigh.

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Mark Your Calendars
The next Quarterly Marketing Update for Wake County hoteliers and attraction partners is set for Wednesday, March 23, from 2pm – 3:45pm, in the meeting space of the newly renovated Wachovia IMAX Theatre in downtown Raleigh. Following the meeting, a free screening of Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D will be shown, compliments of Wachovia IMAX Theatre. RSVP to ctodd@visitRaleigh.com by Wednesday, March 16.

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Board Leadership
The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau says goodbye to board member Dale Whitworth, vice president and controller of Golden Corral Corporation, who has served on the board since March 2005. Thank you for your dedication and service in positively promoting tourism in Wake County.

With goodbye comes change, and the Bureau welcomes Marty Clayton, community relations manager with Progress Energy. Clayton is responsible for working with local economic developers and municipalities to expand Progress Energy’s service territory. Clayton will begin his two-year Board of Directors term on March 1. Current members of the Bureau’s Board of Directors including: Phil Zachary, president and COO of Raleigh-based Curtis Media Group; Barry Mitsch, vice president of The Pyramid Resource Group; Bill Gant, general manager of the Renaissance Raleigh Hotel at North Hills; and Steven Bauld, general manager, Harrison Global, have been reappointed for an additional two-year term.

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Reserve Your Space
It’s that time again to reserve your space and promote your business to the 10 million visitors to our area in the Official Visitors Guide to Raleigh, Cary and Wake County. The Visitors Guide includes information on things to do in Wake County, maps, editorial on unique Wake County dining and sights to see and accommodations listings. The guide is distributed in state welcome centers, at the official Visitor Information Center, at RDU, area attractions and hotels and during conventions and sporting events. For details about advertising in the guide, review the media kit and contact S&A Cherokee’s Jennifer Grady at 919.674.6020 x131 by April 12.

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On the Go
Do you ever wonder what events are taking place in the Raleigh area, where to eat or what to do, but you don’t have time to access a computer? The Bureau has solved that problem with the recent launch of the visitRaleigh.com mobile website, which was designed to be compatible with all smart phones, fast-loading and efficient. Next time you’re out and about, check it out by typing www.visitRaleigh.com into your phone’s browser.

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