Tourism Talk blog

At GRCVB, there seems to be a cycle of buzzwords that we use in our meetings and hallway conversations. In the last year or two, I have heard master plan, disruption, deep dive and "move the needle" tossed around quite a bit. One phrase that has always been around but that we’re...

I’m taking the opportunity today to brag about a couple of my coworkers, specifically senior marketing manager Derek Allman, CHIA, and content marketing manager Michael Robson. I consider them to be Internet marketing wunderkinds, being in the early phases of their careers but having great...

We continue to make progress on Destination 2028. Esports and event metrics Esports was a major opportunity under the Sports priority of the Destination Strategic Plan (DSP). I'm pleased to report that we have booked our first esports event, which will bring in more than 3,500 competitors and

We’re happy to announce that the 2019‒2020 edition of the Official Visitors Guide to Raleigh, Cary and Wake County has been provided to the printer. We expect the Visitors Guides to ship mid-May, and you should start seeing them by late May. Here are a few notes about this year's...

In past posts, we’ve covered visitor profile research and shared stats about Raleigh area visitors’ current makeup (studied biennially by GRCVB); we’ve also covered the economic significance of producing visitor-friendly festivals/events here and how economic impacts can be...

Last week, GRCVB marketing, sports marketing and public relations staff attended the statewide travel and tourism industry conference, Visit North Carolina 365. Destination marketing organizations and others from across the state gather each year to network and hear the latest on Visit North

As much as we wish we could, there are not enough hours in the day and members of our staff to be able to greet visitors personally and provide them with the information they need to have a great Raleigh area experience. So many years ago, the Bureau developed a Tourism Ambassador program, a corps

Last month, my report included updates about Wake County Hospitality Tax Review stakeholders meetings. Two additional meetings have taken place since then. On Feb. 28, 2019: Raleigh Convention Center presented the need for improvements at Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and the

In case you missed it—GRCVB released its 2018 Year-End Tourism Industry Report last month. These numbers are of interest to all of us in the Wake County hospitality sector. ............. 2018 Year-End Tourism Industry Report Wake County hospitality industry has one of the best years on...

In our ongoing effort to keep our partners and other stakeholders “in the loop” about notable and recent developments which affect tourism, we are publishing monthly updates from president and CEO Dennis Edwards. Here are highlights from Denny for February: We are pleased to announce...