Tourism Talk blog

If you haven't visited the official Visitor Information Center (VIC) in downtown Raleigh recently, stop by and take a look. The walls are sporting a vibrant red which gives the space a new energy. Kessa Stevens, CGSP ® , GRCVB's VIC manager, is on hand to answer questions and provide...

It's as if we were prescient. About two and a half years ago at this time, we in GRCVB's Marketing Department had started working with our advertising and creative agency, Avenir Bold, to develop a new theme for destination advertising and promotion. We were looking for an idea and...

Tourism Talk Live is back again in 2022, and we're excited to share with you updates about destination marketing for Raleigh/Wake County during the upcoming season and fiscal year. For the uninitiated, we've written a Q&A to get you familiarized. What is Tourism Talk Live? Tourism Talk...

Like it did with virtually everything else, the pandemic affected implementation of the 10-year Destination Strategic Plan (DSP) we launched in 2018. Some of the eight priorities in the DSP had to be shuffled in 2020, some received different levels of focus this fiscal year than originally expected,

We lost an all-timer last week, and as a result the Raleigh sports industry will never be quite the same. Davin “Dave” Olsen arrived in Raleigh, from Hartford, with the Carolina Hurricanes in the late ʼ90s. For the past 25 years or so he was the general manager of PNC Arena and,...

For many of you, this will be a reintroduction to Jessica because you already know her from her eight years at GRCVB. Jessica Holt was recently promoted from a manager role to director of GRCVB's Public Relations and International Tourism Department. She's a shining example of a crop of...

With 2021 winding down, here are 21 things in the Greater Raleigh sports tourism industry that I’m thankful for as we head into the holiday season: 1. Our GRSA staff. You won’t find a better or more hard-working group anywhere in America. That would be Tori Collins, Jason Philbeck,...

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...

Many of you are acquainted with Scott Peacock, who has served as GRCVB's director of public relations and international tourism since 2016. Scott is a consummate professional and has helped the Bureau and all of its partners achieve greater levels of recognition through his work with the media...

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....