Tourism Talk blog

We already know that, as we move into COVID-19 tourism recovery countywide, it will be a while before we will have visitors arriving in large numbers by plane. However, leadership at RDU International Airport has taken steps to ensure the safety of all air travelers and announced guidelines already

Long before N.C. began to see an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, hospitality partners throughout Raleigh and Wake County responded to preserve their business/customer relationships in numerous ways and have remained vigilant, ensuring the future of area tourism in 2020 and beyond. Before the

Leaders in the hospitality sector and local community are hosting weekly conference calls with updates related to the COVID-19 crisis. Here is a summary of the call from Thurs., April 23, 2020 (or if you prefer to listen to the full recording, please find it here)... Dennis Edwards, GRCVB president

Earlier this week in Tourism Talk, we mentioned that GRCVB along with several local allies will be traveling to Austin, Texas, in March to represent Raleigh at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2020. In case you missed it, here is information that was released to the press on Tues., Feb. 25, 2020. Raleigh

Several members of the GRCVB team will again be traveling to Austin, Texas, from March 15–18, 2020, along with a team of economic development allies representing Wake County, to exhibit at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Trade Show. This will be the third year this group has...

Just in case you missed it (ICYMI), we're passing along this information that GRCVB shared with the media in recent weeks. The City of Raleigh has released a Request For Interest (RFI) about a new convention hotel on two pieces of real estate primed for development in downtown Raleigh. City of

Everybody loves a “Year in Review” list. Here are our picks for the top 10 highlights in Wake County tourism for 2019 (YMMV). 10] The opening of new, high-profile restaurants helmed by celebrity chefs Jolie Scott Crawford—a five-time James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best...

In case you missed it, here's the press release that was distributed last week regarding the economic impact from 2019 World of Bluegrass. .......... New Free Model a Success for IBMA’s Wide Open Bluegrass Festival Biggest week in Bluegrass sees increase in overnight visitation and...

As we speak about the impact tourism has on broader economic development for our region, that notion is no more evident than in our international tourism efforts. That said, in early October I spent a week overseas for a series of events in Paris and London in support of our nonstop flights to RDU

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...