Tourism Talk blog

After 11 months of a comprehensive and transparent process, the Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council approved future distribution of the Interlocal Fund, which is a combination of the county’s lodging and prepared food and beverage tax revenues. The approved...

Once a year or so, I overhear someone say that the Raleigh area doesn't have a brand. Having been project manager for development of the Raleigh, N.C., Destination Brand Strategy in 2014-2015, however, I know that we have at least one brand platform countywide! The problem is that we...

The 2019 GRCVB Annual Meeting, “Why Tourism Matters,” is in the books. Here are some scenes from our favorite day of the year. The theme What we hoped our guests would take away from this event was summarized in the theme—Why Tourism Matters—specifically how visitors and...

The Wake County Destination Strategic Plan (DSP) is garnering international attention. The Destinations International Annual Convention is happening this week in St. Louis, where over 1,400 representatives from convention and visitors bureaus from around the world will be attending. I have been

Invitations for the 2019 GRCVB Annual Meeting are in the mail queue (both snail mail and email). If you haven’t gotten yours already, be watching for it to appear in the next few days. We love Annual Meeting season around here because it’s our chance to show area hospitality partners,...

Hospitality tax stakeholders City and County leaders hosted a hospitality tax stakeholders meeting at Marbles Kids Museum on June 19. I would like to congratulate the County Manager and Raleigh City Manager and their staffs on developing the proposal and for the transparency of the process. I

We are joining with the U.S. Travel Association this week to celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW). You have heard us say this before, but Tourism Matters. And here's why... Why travel matters in Raleigh, N.C. We pass popular tourist sites like Marbles Kids Museum every day; we may...

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

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 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...