Tourism Talk blog

We feel your pain. We are hearing from all sides about how hard it is to find staffing across the hospitality industries right now. It's not just us either—this is a national problem. GRCVB wants to help. It's a little early in the recovery period for a full, in-person job fair for...

In part one of the summary of the March 18, 2021, GRCVB/N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA) virtual meeting, we noted the disparity in relief to the hospitality sector, as reported by Lynn Minges, NCRLA president and CEO. In this second segment, we are summarizing a document NCRLA has

GRCVB and the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA) hosted a virtual meeting on Thurs., March 18, 2021, to share the latest developments related to Wake County's hospitality sector and NCRLA's plan for tourism rebuild/recovery advocacy. This is the first of two reports...

Sports was hit especially hard by the pandemic. And sports will lead our recovery here in Wake County. Those statements provide a good summary about the importance of the sports event industry to our local economy. Looking back, the local sports industry was basically crushed by the onset of the

The Greater Raleigh Esports Local Organizing Committee (GRELOC) is a diverse group of civic, sports and business leaders who support the growth of esports and gaming activities here. The group, which aligns to one market segment being pursued by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRCVB's...

After months of preparation, we’re excited today to share with you Visit Raleigh Studio, a project we have been working on during the pandemic (and before). Visit Raleigh Studio is a curated collection of digital assets (video footage, including from aerial drones at over 75 new locations),

The year 2020 was an extremely challenging and difficult time for the leisure and hospitality industry. However, as vaccines continue to be developed and distributed, we believe consumer confidence regarding travel once again will begin to rebound. There are indicators that Wake County tourism will

In the last Tourism Talk blog post of 2020, we asked the GRCVB staff to reflect on 2020 and share the lessons they have learned, especially as related to tourism and the work we all do. You can read their responses here. Now in this first blog post of 2021, we asked them an opposite question and we

Do you remember that old Mac Davis song "Happiness is (an unnamed Texas city) in the Rearview Mirror"? We're going to paraphrase it to "Happiness is 2020 in the Rearview Mirror." With the end of this unexpected and unprecedented year in front of us and vaccines loaded onto...

You may already know that GRCVB was the recipient, through Wake County, of $1.25 million in CARES Act funding, designated specifically for post-COVID tourism-related recovery through Dec. 30, 2020. We have been completely transparent in how the Bureau has put CARES Act money to work, in