Weekly e-newsletter for Visit NC Partners - February 15, 2024
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Visit NC Tourism Conference: Concurrent sessions offer something for everyone
* N.C.-filmed ‘Love is Blind’ debuts
Visit NC Tourism Conference: Concurrent sessions offer something for everyone
At this year’s Visit NC Tourism Conference, the concurrent sessions will offer something of interest to every attendee. The schedule for this year's Visit NC Tourism Conference is packed with exciting speakers and informative sessions. On Monday, those properties that offer international booking will be interested in the new Tourism Exchange program. Shared content and short-form video both continue to grow in popularity so there’s a session for each. Then there’s an examination of the future of travel journalism. Accessible Tourism brings data and tools to help make a destination more accessible to people with visible and invisible disabilities. There’s a quick start guide to how to understand and communicate data session. Plus, there’s a follow-up session on how you can develop an owned media strategy of your own.
Tuesday brings a session to highlight how you can take advantage of and take part in Visit NC’s For Real campaign across its marketing efforts. Hear how organizations can use data to build a more sustainable economy. Join a dive deep into paid media strategies, email personalization, and AI content generation.
Registration is openfor the Visit NC Tourism Conference, at the Greenville Convention Center in Greenville, March 17-19. The annual conference brings together tourism industry leaders for educational sessions and insightful programming. It provides opportunities to catch up on the latest trends and issues facing the travel industry and gain insights from industry experts.
Hotel room blocks were secured at three properties connected to/adjacent from the convention center. The Hilton and Hampton Inn are now sold out, but hotel rooms remain available at the Holiday Inn. Click here for hotel block information.
The latest season of the Netflix dating series “Love Is Blind” debuted last night (Wednesday) on the streaming platform. Season 6’s 12 episodes were filmed in and around the Greater Charlotte area. While the project didn’t apply for the state’s Film and Entertainment Grant, the North Carolina Film Office has been actively pitching the state to Netflix as an ideal place for filming for both scripted and non-scripted productions.
Vote for N.C. Minor League ballparks, mascots among ‘Best of baseball’
North Carolina has minor league ballparks and mascots that are nominated among different categories as part of USA Today’s 10Best’s “Best of baseball.” Daily online voting is open until noon on March 11.
Best Minor League Baseball Mascot –Dewd, Down East Wood Ducks, Kinston –Wool E. Bull, Durham Bulls, Durham
N.C. State Parks system grew in visitation in 2023
The N.C. state parks system welcomed more than 20.1 million visitors in 2023
and acquired more 2,890 acres of new land, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. Visitation at state parks increased by 4 percent – more than 755,000 – from 2022. For the second year in a row, Jordan Lake State Recreation Area was the most visited park in the system, welcoming more than 2.5 million visitors – about half a million more than last year. Five parks reached the 1-million-mark for annual visitation: Falls Lake, Fort Fisher, and Kerr Lake state recreation areas, and Fort Macon and Pilot Mountain state parks. Twenty-seven of 42 units saw an increase in annual visitation from 2022. The largest visitation growth for a state park was 95 percent – at both Mayo River and Morrow Mountain state parks.
For the week of Feb. 15, "North Carolina Weekend” repeats the episode “History in the Making,” that originally aired Nov. 16. Featured segments include the Old Rock School in Valdese and the town's history; Reed Gold Mine in Midland; Mendenhall Homeplace in Jamestown; the Daniel Boone Heritage Trail in Mocksville; and the Carolina Inn's Centennial celebration in Chapel Hill.
(Check local listings for schedule; segments are subject to change.) "North Carolina Weekend" is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, PBS North Carolina has recent editions of "North Carolina Weekend" available online.
Visit North Carolina is part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
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