Tourism Talk blog

So far, 2022 has been an exciting return to form for Raleigh and Wake County tourism. With outdoor sports events never having left, festivals bouncing back from dormant years prior and conventions/meeting groups returning en masse, leisure and group business, it seems, are back. And it's only...

In 2019, GRCVB launched its "All Access Wake County" program, which encourages all Wake County hospitality partners to provide stellar customer service to those with disabilities. The call from GRCVB to our partners is to go above and beyond what the ADA requires and make extra effort on...

One of the benefits of being part of the Wake County hospitality community and a partner of GRCVB is the free listing every area business gets on visitRaleigh.com. (As an aside, the website garners almost three million uses every year, and some of those user eyeballs are landing on your listings.)

You should have seen an invitation by now to the Bureau's Annual Meeting on Thurs., Aug. 19, 2021, at 10am. The theme of this year's event is "The Next Normal," and that concept couldn't be more relevant than it is right now. We're all still trying to discern what the...

We announced in the Tourism Talk blog on June 21 that there are several significant staff changes underway in the Destination Services Department here at the Bureau. As of July 31, 2021, Julie Brakenbury, CGSP ® , director of services since 2007, is taking her much-deserved retirement, while...

Open your calendars and add this date for the 2021 GRCVB Annual Meeting. Thurs., Aug. 19, 2021 • 10-11am For the first time, the GRCVB Annual Meeting will be a hybrid event originating from A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater at Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Partners may attend in...

You’ve heard us talk about accessibility a lot in the past. As recently as Dec. 2020 we hosted Episode Three of our Meeting Professionals Summit Virtual Series, “From Leaders in the Field: Practical tips for making in-person and virtual events accessible.” In that episode, we...

Now that many of us are sporting red Walgreens bandages on our arms after first and second vaccine doses, the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel seems brighter than ever. There are sports groups (and big ones) already on their way for national championships and tournaments in Wake County this

For the last few weeks, we have been telling you about Visit Raleigh Studio, a project we've been working on during this time of COVID, designed to benefit all of Wake County’s hospitality community. Parts of the Studio were funded through CARES Act dollars, invested with us by the...

As we have reported throughout fall 2020 and into 2021, GRCVB was grateful to have received CARES Act funding through Wake County. We have written in previous Tourism Talk posts about how the funds were allotted for four, significant tourism projects during that time. One of those projects that is