In the first Tourism Talk post of 2019, we outlined the three talking points GRCVB will be reiterating in much of our communication this year. The first of those and perhaps the most important is the Value of Tourism.

We explained in detail why tourism matters to Wake County in the second post of the year and concluded with this:insert
We at GRCVB live in this world of tourism-related economic development every day, and we understand that not everyone in the county thinks about it as much as we do. And that’s as it should be; it’s our job. But the reality is—so much of what we all love and appreciate about living in Raleigh/Wake County, and what makes it a quality place to live as well as visit, is directly attributable to visitors.

In 2019, are on a kind of mission to make sure that our hospitality business partners, the area's elected officials and corporate leaders (and eventually the public) grow in their understanding of why tourism matters to our area. And to turn them into enthusiastic fans.

To accomplish that goal, we will be using a series of tools and tactics. 

A portal on visitRaleigh.com
As of today, we are publicizing a webpage at visitRaleigh.com/tourismmatters where business and corporate leaders, government stakeholders and anyone interested can go to learn more about why tourism is instrumental to Wake County's success.

Community conversations
We already meet regularly with municipal leaders, business and corporate leaders, media contacts and, of course, our visitor-sector partners. In 2019, one of the items on the agendas of those meetings will be Why Tourism Matters. 

Training
We are also developing a series of new training sessions that the CVB can bring to you and your business to ensure your employees, colleagues and contacts understand the benefits of tourism more deeply.

There will also be support pieces like videos, printed collateral and maybe even some swag along the way. But all with the intention of bringing it home—tourism adds greatly to our quality of place. And because of that, tourism as an industry sector and GRCVB as its champion need your support and advocacy.

Stay tuned—there’s much more to come.

Photo by Keenan Hairston