Tourism Talk blog

The Wake County Board of Commissioners allocated $2.67 million of their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the GRCVB in late summer 2021, which was included in our 2021-2022 fiscal-year budget and business plan. These funds brought our budget back to nearly pre-COVID levels and put us in a

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.)

And we're back! After a pause due to unforeseen in-person circumstances (insert your unprecedented times here), Tourism Talk Live will convene once again on Thurs., Nov. 18, at 10:30am. We cannot wait to see you! If you're new to the term, Tourism Talk Live is GRCVB's quarterly update...

GRCVB hosted its first hybrid Annual Meeting on Thurs., Aug. 19, 2021, virtually and in A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater at Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Here’s a summary of the meeting... Wake County welcomed 12.9 million visitors in 2020, which was a decrease of 29% from 2019....

The last 17 months have no doubt been unprecedented in their overall effect on the revenues, employment and economic performance in the hospitality sector. Contingency planning, recovery tactics and long-term resiliency are the objectives for the GRCVB and all our community partners. The old saying

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...

Once again... the announcement is bittersweet. GRCVB’s director of destination services Julie Brakenbury, CGSP ® , has announced her retirement. Just as with the retirement of Theresa Tyler in Dec. 2020, saying goodbye to these colleagues comes with mixed emotions; we’re happy for...

Start tuning up those banjos and dust off your boots—IBMA World of Bluegrass is coming back! We’re excited to announce that the International Bluegrass Music Association and local planning team are working on a full schedule of festival events, along with a few virtual additions and...

In case you missed it, GRCVB released this report to media on May 10. ........................... 2021 First Quarter Wake County Tourism Industry Report Tourism tax collections and KPIs slowly rebounding from COVID-19 pandemic Raleigh, N.C. – GRCVB has released the Wake County Tourism...

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