Tourism Talk blog

If you live or work in downtown Raleigh, you are familiar with and may be reliant on the R-LINE, the free, hybrid-electric, circulator bus service. When we're promoting downtown as a destination for leisure and meeting/convention visitors, we often include mention of the R-LINE, which makes...

It is easy to find things to look forward to when you live and work in a booming area like Wake County. We have a lot to anticipate in 2020, but let's start with these eight visitor-related developments. First up—a treasure trove of new culinary offerings... High-profile restaurants and...

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...

If you attended “All Access Wake County” on Nov. 18, you know that accessibility is an important priority for GRCVB right now. You might also have noticed that, since July, visitRaleigh.com has been undergoing a certification process for AudioEye, a tool that provides valuable...

Quarterly report released GRCVB released its 2019 third-quarter industry report, and all indicators confirm that tourism is doing extremely well in Wake County. Hotel occupancy in the county is up 6.3%, running at 74.6% through Sept. year-to-date (YTD). Lodging tax collections are up 11.3% 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

I am pleased to inform you that the Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council approved the following last week related to Interlocal Fund distributions: 1. A stadium feasibility study JLL (the same organization which conducted GRCVB's Destination Strategic Plan project...

I consider myself something of an art aficionado. Before I moved to Raleigh in 2005, I worked on a college campus and was good friends with some of the art faculty there, and they taught me how to think more deeply about art. For example, sometimes a piece of art carries deep and nuanced meaning and

By now, pretty much everyone has heard of esports, right? It’s the fastest-growing sports market in the world. Sometimes it feels as if esports is taking over the world! But in the events industry, esports is still a relative baby. A newcomer to the scene. So much rapid growth, so much...

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,...